Two Souls, One Goal
by Darth Cody
Summary: Barriss has been found innocent of the Bombing incident, but the guilt still haunts her. But she feels like she has the weight of the Galaxy on her shoulders. It doesn't get much easier with an alien parasite, a mysterious hacker, and the ever looming threat of the Sith hanging over them all. Can she survive? T for themes and language and violence. I own nothing but my OCs.
1. First Contact

**Disclaimer: See Summary.**

 **A/N: So, this is based on a dream I had a few nights ago. I only remember vague details, but I know that at some point, it involved Barriss, Ahsoka, and a Symbiote. The idea's been swarming around in my head since, so I figured I'd put it down in writing. I don't know which category to put this under in the crossover section with Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I can't decide between Spider-Man or Venom. I'm leaning more towards Venom, even though the OC Symbiote is going to be the only one that will be featured prominently. Please leave a review with your suggestions and I'll recategorize it accordingly. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a name for the Symbiote, feel free to let me know. (Names I can't use for obvious reasons: Venom, Carnage, Anti-Venom, Toxin, Riot, Scream, Sleeper, Mania, Scorn, Knull.)**

 **As a note, this will take place in an alternate version of my ADU storyverse, so Kaori and Nazo (Pre-Stalker era) will be featured.**

 **Also, there will eventually be Barrissoka, so you have been warned.**

* * *

"Search everywhere, men." Kaori's voice barked. "Barriss has to be here somewhere."

"Sir yes sir!" The Clones said in unison, as they set off to find the missing Jedi.

Kaori slumped against the wall. "Oh, bugger it all." She grumbled. "Who could've done this? An' to my own sister, too. Why?"

She slid down the wall, burying her face in her hands. She knew that showing this level of emotion was frowned upon because of the Jedi Code, but damn the consequences. She was a living being with the capacity for emotion, so she was going to grieve.

"Something bothering you, Kaori?"

The Correllian Jedi looked up to see her two brothers-in-arms standing over her. Anakin Skywalker bent down and offered her a hand up. She accepted the offer, and surprised him with a tight hug.

"Hey, it's okay." He said, hoping he could soothe her. "We'll find her."

They pulled apart, and she looked between the two of them.

"I hope so," Kaori said. Then she slumped against the wall again, slamming her fist into the wall next to her. Nazo raised an eyebrow at the sound.

"Damn it all." Kaori spat. "How'd life get so buggered up?"

"Because most everyone decided to throw common sense out the window." Anakin said bluntly. "Honestly, I can say with certainty that there'd be far less conflict if people just took the time to think things through."

"There's more to it than that, and you both know it." Nazo added. "I've studied the entirety of the Archives, and I can attest that the Jedi of old would be disgusted with the way things have become." At the looks they gave him, he sighed. "I mean that the Jedi of the past believed that we as Jedi are meant to channel our emotions in a safe manner, not deny them completely. How it changed so drastically, and when, I can't say for sure." He scoffed. "But I'll be damned if I don't do something to fix that."

Then, he walked up to the wall where Kaori was sitting down. "If only the brilliant Jedi Council wasn't blinded by their misguided ways." He grunted.

"Not every Jedi in the Order has a stick up their ass," Kaori grumbled as she started counting Jedi who didn't "Fit the Mold" off her fingers. "There's the four of us, then Master Vos, Obi-Wan, my m...Master, Shaak Ti, Master Oros, Master Fisto, Aayla Secura..."

"Shh." Nazo interrupted, an ear pressed to the wall.

"Did you just shush me, mate?" Kaori asked, shocked. "I'm tryin'a argue about how not every Jedi has that backwards way of thinkin'. The bloody nerve o' ya to..."

"I said, quiet!" Nazo snapped, as he knocked on the wall.

"What are you doing, Nazo?" Anakin asked. He received no answer, as Nazo continued knocking on different sections of the wall.

"It's hollow," Nazo said after a moment, his brows furrowing in thought. After hitting a specific spot, he held up a finger, and stepped away from the wall. Then, he wound up and smashed his fist against the wall. The other two Jedi winced, but Nazo didn't even flinch as he punched into the wall again. Then, on the third punch, the wall completely collapsed.

"The hell?" Kaori exclaimed, even as Nazo stepped back. Then, the three of them saw who was inside. "Oh my gods, Barriss!" Kaori shouted as she rushed to her sister-in-arms.

The Mirialan Jedi stirred slowly, even as her friends helped pull her out of the small hole. "Ugghh..." She groaned as she blinked her eyes open. "What...what happened?"

"Barriss," Nazo began. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember?" Barriss repeated, as she slowly regained her bearings. "I think...I think it was talking to Ahsoka after the funeral. Speaking of which, where is she? Is she okay?"

Anakin's face fell. "She's gone." At the shocked look on Barriss' face, he clarified. "She's left the Order." Barriss' eyes remained wide.

"How long was I gone?" She gaped.

"Quite a while, sis." Kaori said. "We'll 'ave to fill ya in on what's been happening."

* * *

"So, let me just make sure I've heard you right," Barriss said, having heard their collective story of the past few days. "Someone invaded the temple, reprogramed one of those training droids to disguise itself as me, and framed me as the culprit. And then, the fake me framed Ahsoka, and she left the order because she thought I'd betrayed her?"

"Actually," Anakin said solemnly. "Part of it is because of Mace Windu. He had the nerve to brush the whole mess aside as a "Great Trial" or whatever."

Kaori scoffed. "Total bullshit, if you ask me." She said. "Like I said before, that man has a stick up his ass."

Anakin clenched his fist, even as he smirked. "And I have half a mind to kick him in the ass for saying that to her face. Screw the consequences."

"Honestly, I'm glad we have a backup plan in case things fall through." Nazo said. Anakin raised an eyebrow.

"We had a contingency plan in case you got th' boot from the Order." Kaori explained. "Barriss, Nazo, and I agreed that 'appened, we'd leave with you and start our own order somewhere. An' we'd find Ahsoka too. I'm sure she'd be on board."

"Thanks, guys." Anakin said with a small grin.

Barriss sighed. "If you'll excuse me." She stood up and started walking away.

"Where ya goin'?" Kaori asked.

"I..." Barriss sighed. "I just need clear my head. I'm going to go meditate. I'll...see you guys later."

"Okay, sis." Kaori said. "We'll see ya at dinner."

* * *

The Room of A Thousand Fountains was the ideal place to meditate. It provided the closest thing to nature available in this part of the planet, aside from the zoos. It was here that Barriss hoped to find her center. A lot was on her mind, and she couldn't help but feel afraid. It felt like nowhere was safe from corruption.

Not to mention, her best friend was gone, having thought she had been betrayed by those she cared about. Maybe she'd convince her Master to let her try to find Ahsoka and patch things up with her. Even if their friendship dissolved after all this, Barriss would make sure it ended on a high note.

"Something troubling you, is there, Padawan Offee?" croaked a familiar voice.

Barriss was jolted from her thoughts, and she spun around to see the diminutive Master Yoda approaching her. He looked up at her with his typical, wizened look. "Oh, I'm sorry, Master Yoda." She said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Mmm. Visit here frequently, I do." Yoda replied. "Looking for you, I was."

"Looking for me?" Barriss repeated. "Why?"

"Clear your name, the Jedi will." Yoda explained. "Speak before the Senate, you must, and explain what has happened."

Barriss sighed. "But what about the true culprit?" She asked. "Whoever planted that droid is still out there. We need to find out who's behind the attack and stop them."

The old Jedi Grandmaster nodded solemnly. "Agree, I do, that find the true culprit, we must. But first, assure the Senate, we must, that a threat, you are not."

"I...I understand, Master Yoda." Barriss replied. Then, something crossed her mind. "The others told me about what happened with Ahsoka. Do you truly believe what Master Windu said about the situation being her "Great Trial"?"

"Hmph," Yoda scoffed. "Speak for all Jedi, Master Windu does not. Agree, I do not, with his reasoning. However, a test for us all, it was. And failed, we did."

Barriss hugged her arms, as she formulated her words. "Do you think I should be worried about Ahsoka?"

"Somewhat," Yoda replied. "Concern for her, natural, it is. But strong, she is. Take care of herself, she can. Her choice, it was, to leave the Order."

The Mirialan Jedi nodded. "I understand," She said. "When is the hearing?"

"Three days from now." Yoda answered. "Time enough, to rest and recover, I think."

"That works." Barriss said.

The diminutive Jedi tapped his cane against the floor. "Remember, Padawan," He said. "That friends, you have in the Order. Be afraid, you need not, to ask them for help."

"Thank you, Master Yoda." Barriss smiled softly.

Yoda smiled back, and turned to leave. Barriss returned to her thoughts, knowing that she could always rely on Anakin, Nazo, and Kaori if she ever needed help.

She was left alone with her thoughts for about ten minutes before something caught her attention. "Is someone there?" She asked, opening an eye. She got to her feet, and tried to locate the source of the sound. According to her senses, no one else was in the room. Then where was that noise coming from?

"Anakin?" She asked. "Kaori? Nazo? Is that one of you guys? Hello?" Maybe it was one of the younglings trying to spy on her. "It's alright, little one." She said, in a gentle voice. "I won't be upset. You can come out of hiding now."

She turned a corner around one of the small patches of flowers and raised an eyebrow at the sight before her. A small mass of dark green slime lay in front of her. She looked around, but no one else was there.

"Excuse me, uhhh..." She called out, wondering if anyone else knew of this. "There's something messy here, and I'm not sure where it came from." Then, she looked back down at the strange blob. She knew that she shouldn't, but she had the strong desire to touch it. "It looks solid enough," She mused. "Maybe I could bring it to Nazo. That bookworm would certainly know what to do with this thing. A lot more than I do, that's for sure. I guess it wouldn't hurt."

She lowered her hand to touch it, just to make sure it would fit in her arms, and then it moved. She pulled her hand back for a moment, caught off guard. Okay, so this was some sort of life form. No big deal, random animals would find their way into the temple every now and then. Now she knew she had to bring this to Nazo.

As she reached down to pick it up, the weird blob did something unexpected. It reached out and latched onto her arm. Her eyes widened at the chilling sensation, and the last thing she saw was the blob crawling up her arm. She could feel it absorbing into her skin as she blacked out from shock.

 **A/N: Yeah, you probably shouldn't have done that, Barriss. But don't worry, it's not like anything _bad_ could come from that, right? Mwahahaha...**

 **Anyway, yeah. This takes place in an alternate version of my Altered Destinies Storyverse, and the idea of the four friends ditching the Jedi Order if Anakin were to get kicked out is something I have in mind for "What We Could Have Been."**

 **Again, any name suggestions will be taken into consideration (except for the ones I mentioned in the beginning A/N). Next chapter, we get more fluff among the friends, and the first few consequences of Barriss' curiosity start to show.**

 **Until then, please Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


	2. Symptoms

**Disclaimer: See Summary.**

 **A/N: Yeah, so I'm going to be juggling this and my Super Smash Bros story for a while, so yeah. I'm working on two small projects at once, and once I've gotten a few chapters for each, I'll get back to Mercytale, since that's going to be my next major project. Until then, we'll have more of Barriss becoming a symbiote's host and video game icons trying to all survive under one roof.**

 **As for the changes I made to the summary, I started thinking ahead, and realized that the Ahsoka/Barriss pairing wasn't working in the long run. But don't worry, there will still be some mention of something like it.**

 **Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Barriss groaned as she faded in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of the voices near her.

"Are you sure that's what happened?" Anakin asked.

"I told you already," Nazo began, and Barriss' senses faded out again. When she finally came to again, she could hear the three of them talking again.

"She's probably starving." Kaori said, worry in her voice. Barriss groaned again. "Oi, she's wakin' up!"

"Ugh, not again." Barriss grunted. "Where...where am I?"

"The Halls of Healing." Nazo explained.

"How'd I get here?" Barriss asked. "I don't remember coming here."

"Your Force Signature flared up about three hours ago," Nazo continued. "I found you passed out on the floor of the Fountains room, apparently having a seizure or something."

"A seizure?" Barriss repeated.

"Well," Anakin added. "You were on the floor, shaking like crazy. And you were ice cold."

"Yeah," Kaori added. "Wha' the crap happened?"

"I don't know," Barriss replied, trying to remember what had happened. "All I remember was seeing a small green blob in the Fountains room, and then I blacked out. Everything past that is a blur."

"A green blob?" Anakin asked, his eyebrows rising. "Did someone steal Jabba's son again?"

"No," Barriss said, furrowing her brows. "It definitely wasn't a huttlet. I...don't know what it was, or what happened to it. I can't imagine it's still there."

"Well, I couldn't see anything like that when we found you." Nazo replied. "So it probably disappeared."

Barriss pondered that for a moment. "I remember trying to pick it up." She said.

"Now why the hell would you do that?" Nazo asked.

"I thought you might've been able to tell me what it was." Barriss replied. "I guess I was also afraid that if I left to go find you, it would be gone by the time I came back."

"Sis," Kaori asked. "Don't'cha remember th' last time one of us interacted with some unknown substance?"

"I don't." Nazo cut in.

Kaori grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Oh, you're in for a treat." She said with a chuckle. "Barriss and I were assigned to go to Kojen, remember? Well, hehe, while we were there, we got lost and stuck in the woods. I got hungry and ate something I shouldn't have."

"Let me guess." Nazo began. "You ate some sort of foreign mushrooms and got absolutely baked."

Anakin laughed. "You should have been there man." He joked. "It was hilarious."

"What happened, exactly?" Nazo asked.

"You'll have to see it later, when we go visit Senator Amidala for dinner." Anakin said.

"Truth be told," Kaori admitted. "It was honestly the best high of my life."

Barriss laughed. "You pretty much just babbled like a complete idiot the entire trip back to camp." She explained. Then she attempted to sit up, but a dull pain in her abdomen forced her to lay down again.

"Ughh," She groaned. "Everything hurts."

Kaori put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You're probably just hungry. I can't imagine you had much to eat stuck in that crawlspace."

As if on cue, Barriss' stomach grumbled. Everyone chuckled at the timing. "Luckily, Padmé sent us an invitation for dinner at her apartment. All four of us."

"I'll go," Nazo said. "But on the condition that you come back to the temple with us afterwards. Can't have your secret getting out, can we?" He raised an eyebrow, earning a choked laugh from Kaori.

"Not that the hickey you had that one time didn't nearly give you away." She chortled.

"When was this, exactly?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"About a year ago." Kaori explained. "I'm honestly surprised no one called you out on it."

"And you waited a year to tell me about it?" Anakin inquired.

"You insisted it was a bruise." Nazo said with a chuckle. "And Kaori's exact words...her exact words were "Yeah, a bruise that looks suspiciously like a set of bite marks"."

"What was all that about keeping my secret, huh?" Anakin smirked, even as they all started laughing.

After a moment, Anakin sighed. "If only we could have more moments like this." He said. "No wars, no stuck-up council, no politics, just four best friends being goofy young adults."

Kaori hummed. "Maybe we should just ditch the Jedi Order now and be done with it." She said. "Then we could start our own Order. One that isn't run by emotionless drones."

"Where would we even set up our own Temple?" Nazo asked.

"Well," Kaori replied. "The one on Ilum is cold as balls, so that's out. And Jedha's out of the question as well."

"Why's that?" Anakin asked.

"Jedha's a desert planet, mate." Kaori explained. "You'd be miserable there."

"Oh," Anakin said, his face falling for a minute. "Well, where else could we go?"

"Hmmm." Kaori pondered. "There might be the old temple on Ahch-To, but that place is clear off the star maps. Bet it would take a miracle to find that planet." The Corellian Jedi cupped her chin. "Come to think of it, the best option I can think of would be the old temple on Lothal."

"That could work." Anakin said. He had never actually been to Lothal before, but from what Nazo had said of the planet, it was pretty well off.

"Well," Anakin said. "Whatever happens, I'm glad you guys have my back."

"And don't you freaking forget it, Skywalker." Kaori snapped playfully.

Barriss smiled. This really did feel nice, just catching up with her friends. The moment, however, was interrupted when the familiar presence of her Master filled the room.

"Hello, my Padawan." Luminara said softly, as the other three Jedi knights filed out of the way.

"We'll let you two catch up." Nazo said. "We'll see you at Senator Amidala's apartment later."

"Wait, Nazo." Barriss said. Nazo paused. "Could you please double check the archives for information on what I saw in the Fountains Room?"

The human Jedi nodded. "I'll look into it after dinner." He assured her.

As they left, Luminara Unduli turned to face her Padawan. "How are you feeling, Barriss?"

"Honestly?" Barriss replied. "Pardon my language, but I feel like crap. Everything hurts, I have a slight headache, my stomach is doing somersaults, and I just don't feel like moving."

Luminara placed a hand on her pupil's forehead. "You're cold." She observed. "Perhaps a result of being trapped without nourishment for so long." Barriss chewed on her lip. "Is something bothering you, my Padawan?"

"While I was meditating, I saw some sort of creature in the Room of A Thousand Fountains. I wanted to show it to the others, but when I touched it, I blacked out. I don't remember anything after that."

Master Unduli nodded. "So you asked Knight Malfoy to investigate." She said.

Barriss made an affirming sound. "I'm just worried that I might have gotten myself poisoned."

"I am sure that whatever it was, is no threat to your health." Luminara assured.

"I hope so." Barriss noted.

The elder Mirialan nodded. "I hope you have a pleasant time with your friends tonight, my Padawan."

"As do I." Barriss added. Luminara smiled as she stood up to leave. "Actually, I have a question."

"Hmm? What is it, Padawan?"

Barriss paused for a moment, as if trying to think about what she wanted to say. "Do you think the one who caused this is still out there?"

The older Mirialan seemed to ponder that for a moment. "If they are," She replied. "Then we will find them. But that is not important right now. You still need time to recover." She turned to leave the room. "I wish you the best of luck tonight."

* * *

"Thank you for having us over, Senator." Anakin said as Padmé placed the food on the table.

"You are very welcome, Master Jedi." Padmé replied with a smile.

"Oh, my gods," Kaori groaned. "Would you two just make out and be done with it?"

Nazo smirked. "I agree." He added. "Better get it out of your systems now. Because as soon as we're done here, we're going straight back to the Temple. It was hard enough convincing those on the Council to let us come here to begin with."

Kaori chuckled. "Haha, yeah. If we show up at the Temple without ya, as miraculous as it is that they 'aven't figured it out yet, they will realize something's wrong."

"We'll deal with the consequences later." Padmé said, as she kissed the side of Anakin's face. "If anything goes wrong, I could always invite the council over for dinner."

Nazo made a sound that could have been a chuckle. "The secret to winning over the Jedi Council is pasta," He mused. "Why didn't I ever think of that?"

Kaori started laughing, and Anakin rolled his eyes. Barriss stared down at the food in front of her. She toyed with the chunk of pasta on her fork before putting it in her mouth.

"So," Nazo said, turning to Barriss. "I recall you mentioning that you were going to tell me about when Kaori ate those mushrooms and got mind-fried."

"Hmm?" Barriss mumbled absentmindedly. "Oh, uhh, yeah. It wasn't much." A small smile crept to her face. "I was able to drag her back to camp and get her to her quarters. The whole time, she was just babbling like a complete fool."

Kaori snorted. "Oh, you should have been there, mate." She said. "I literally felt like I could touch someone, and look into what they did in their past lives. Like, I brushed Barriss' shoulder, and I could tell that in a past life, she'd been the owner of a Pet Shop, selling exotic spiders to people. Best freakin' high of my life."

As the others continued to share stories of the past few years, Barriss returned to her food. Then, Kaori's voice broke her thoughts.

"Stars above, sis." Kaori said. "You musta been really 'ungry."

Barriss looked up at the other Jedi, and then down at her plate, which was in fact, completely empty.

"You just ate a full bowl of pasta in about seven seconds." Nazo observed, seeming impressed.

"I did?" Barriss asked, not remembering said event. Then, she felt a tug in her stomach.

 _ **"Still hungry."**_

"Did you guys hear that?" She asked.

Kaori raised an eyebrow. "Hear what? D'you guys hear anything?"

"Depends," Anakin said. "What did it sound like?"

"Like someone saying, "Still Hungry"," Barriss explained. "Except it sounds like their voice is coming through a speaker, while that speaker is going through a blender."

Nazo's brow furrowed. "I can't say I heard anything like that."

 _ **"Need more food."**_

"There it is again." Barriss said. "It just said, "Need more food"."

"Sis, you sure you're okay?" Kaori asked. "We don't 'ear anything."

"Um," Barriss began, not sure what was going on. "Maybe I'm just delirious from what happened to me. May I please have another bowl?"

"Of course," Padmé said, taking Barriss' bowl and filling it up again. As soon as the bowl was in front of her again, Barriss dug in with an uncharacteristic lack of grace.

"Sweet jeebus," Nazo muttered, glancing at his watch with wide eyes. "Five point six seconds."

"I've never seen someone eat pasta that fast in my life," Anakin exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Wow, you must have _really_ been hungry, Barriss."

 _ **"Need more."**_

"Um, excuse me, Senator." Barriss said sheepishly, as she stood up.

"Please," Padmé interrupted. "Just call me Padmé."

 _ **"Chocolate will do."**_

"Sorry," Barriss grunted. "But do you have any, uhh...chocolate, by any chance."

"Uh, yes." Padmé replied. "In the refrigerator."

"Thank you." Barriss replied, as she rushed over to the fridge. She frantically opened the door, rummaging through the food before finding a large chocolate bar. She tore off the wrapper and stuffed the entire thing in her mouth.

"Dear gods, sis." Kaori gaped. "Are you alright? You seem off."

"Hmm?" Barriss grunted absently, chocolate smeared on her lips. She wiped her face with her arm. "Oh, I'm fine. How about you, Kaori?"

"Uhh...I don't remember you being so...wild before." Kaori muttered.

Barriss looked down at her fingers, even after she'd licked each of them clean. Her eyes widened as what she'd just done set in. "I, uhhhh...I'm going to...go back to the Temple. I'll see you guys there. Thank you again for dinner, Padmé." Without another word, she saw herself out of the apartment.

The three friends looked at each other. "Wha' was that all about?" Kaori asked.

"I don't know," Nazo said. "But I think I need to check the Archives."

* * *

Barriss stumbled into the apartment she and her master shared about an hour later. Her Master was preparing a kettle of Tea when she arrived.

"Padawan," Luminara acknowledged. "You're back early. Did you enjoy spending time with the others?"

"Yes." Barriss muttered, a hand over her stomach. "It was fine."

The elder Jedi caught on to the way her padawan was carrying herself. "Is everything alright, Barriss? You seem unwell."

"It's...nothing." Barriss grunted. "I think I ate more than I thought. I'm going to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning, Master." With that, she sauntered off to her room.

She collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to take her shoes off first, and hoped that she could get a good night's sleep.

She wouldn't.

 **A/N: Yep, that just happened. The signs are showing that something seems off about Barriss, but what could it be?**

 **Anyway, I wanted to clarify. Kojen is a planet I've had my mind on adding to the Star Wars universe since I first started binge watching The Clone Wars back in high school, and there's a whole story behind how that planet as evolved over the years. As it stands now, it is the home Planet of the Nekari, like Myrcella. I'm not suggesting that could be foreshadowing or anything, but hey, anything's possible.**

 **So, next time, Nazo tries to investigate what's been going on with Barriss, and the Jedi learner discovers what has happened to her.**

 **Until then, please Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


	3. The Symbiote

**Disclaimer: See Summary.**

 **A/N: So, here we are on chapter 3. I don't really have much to say right now. So I'll take this time to address the reviews.**

 **CT7567Rules: You'll find out in this chapter.**

 **Starwarshobbitfics: Naturally, this creature is fully sentient. You'll have to wait and see what comes of this new development.**

 **Also, since no one came up with any name suggestions for the symbiote, I'm just going to go with one that's been floating in my head.**

 **Anyway, let's begin.**

* * *

Nazo rubbed his eyes. He'd been researching all night, trying to find the source of Barriss' symptoms. But he didn't find anything that matched.

"Do you need help finding something?"

"Hmm?" Nazo looked up to see Jocasta Nu approaching. "Oh, my apologies, Madame Jocasta. Just, burning the midnight oil again." He stood up, likely for the first time since he started searching, and stretched. "I've been up all night, trying to find out what's happening with Barriss."

"Well," Jocasta replied. "You could always ask Master Oros. He may know what the issue is."

"Hmm," Nazo pondered. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Do you know where he is?"

The head librarian pointed over to a desk nearby, where the older Jedi Master was studying a holobook. Nazo turned to Madame Jocasta and said, "Thank you." Then he went to talk with his former Master.

"Master Oros." He said.

"Eh?" The older Jedi started. "Ah, excuse me, lad. One second." He stood up and straightened himself out, before clasping a hand on Nazo's shoulder. "It's been too long, my boy. How've ye been, lad? Stayin' outta trouble?"

"Trouble has a habit of finding me," Nazo muttered with a smirk. "Whether I like it or not."

The grizzled Jedi Master chuckled heartily. "Well, it's nice to hear from ya, lad. So, what seems to be on yer mind?"

"It's about a friend of mine." Nazo explained. "Barriss Offee."

"Ah," Ulzaar-Ahk replied. "I hear the lass has a meetin' with the Senate in two days, concernin' her innocence in the temple bombin'. Well, wha' seems ta be the problem?"

"She seems to have gotten sick." Nazo explained. "I've been trying to determine what it might be based on her symptoms, but nothing I've read has gotten me anywhere."

"Do ye know how she might've contracted it?" Ulzaar-Ahk asked.

"Hmmm..." Nazo thought. "She did mention coming into contact with a strange life form in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and then blacking out."

"Ah," Master Oros said, clapping his hands together. "So it was some sort o' animal, then. That's a good place to start. Do you have an idea of her symptoms?"

"Yes, actually." Nazo said. "Increased appetite, loss of inhibition and awareness of actions, claiming to be hearing voices..."

The entire time he was listing off Barriss' symptoms, the older Jedi's eyebrows furrowed, and then his eyes widened. "Dear gods..." He muttered.

"What?" Nazo asked. "What is it?"

"How did the lass describe this voice in her head?" Master Oros asked.

"Uhh, like a speaker being run through a blender?" Nazo said, trying to recount Barriss' description of the voice in her head.

"Lad, come with me." Master Oros said, his voice unusually serious. "I think I know what's happened ta Barriss."

* * *

Barriss groaned into the pillow, her head still buzzing. She squinted at the clock above the door to her room. Nine-thirty am, Galactic Standard time. "Kriff me," she groaned silently, as she pulled herself out of bed. She sauntered into the main room of her and Master Unduli's shared apartment, in time to find her Master already meditating nearby.

"Good morning, Padawan." Luminara greeted, not even turning around to face her Padawan.

"Mmm...Morning, Master." Barriss groaned.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Luminara asked.

"No." Barriss replied simply. This caused Luminara to turn around and take in Barriss' disheveled appearance. "I've had a headache all night. And I'm still painfully hungry."

"Well, then." Luminara suggested. "Why don't you get washed up, and we will both get something to eat."

"Mmm...okay." Barriss mumbled, as she trudged back to the washroom to get cleaned up.

She briefly checked to make sure she didn't smell too bad, and then looked in the mirror. Gods, I look like crap, she thought, as she blinked away the sleep in her eyes. Then she turned on the water in the sink. She ran her hands under the cold water before splashing it in her eyes. Satisfied that she was fully awake, she looked back up into the mirror to get another look at herself.

What she saw made her freeze in horror.

Instead of her face, what met her gaze in the mirror was some sort of monster. It was hairless, and its dark green skin seemed almost like a liquid. That, combined with its large, white, blank eyes and fanged grin, reminded her vaguely of some holo-game Anakin had recently told her about. But that wasn't the worst part, though. The more Barriss looked at the thing, the more she realized that it had a feminine physique, and that it didn't mirror her movements.

 _ **"Barriss..."**_ It hissed.

With a yelp, the Mirialan Jedi leapt back in shock. She didn't realize she was panicking until her Master's voice cut through. "Padawan?" Luminara said, entering the room. "Barriss? Is everything alright in here?"

"Everything's fine, Master." Barriss replied. "I just...zoned out and almost fell over."

 _ **"Liar."**_ The voice taunted in her head.

"I think I just need to go out and get some fresh air." Barris continued, despite her rising dread. "Is it alright if I meet you at breakfast later?"

"Of course, my Padawan." Luminara said. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you." Barriss said, getting to her feet. "I won't be gone long."

"Alright then," Luminara replied. As Barriss approached the door, her Master added, "Be careful, Padawan."

"I will." Barriss called back, as she closed the door behind her.

"Alright," Barriss snapped quietly once she was out of earshot of her Master. "I know you're in there, whatever you are. You might as well explain yourself."

 _ **"Certainly, Barriss."**_ The voice replied, surprisingly cheerfully despite how distorted it was. Come to think of it, it almost sounded like a twisted version of her own voice. _**"Just not here. I know a better place for us to be formally...introduced."**_

* * *

The place in question, ironically, was the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

"Alright," Barriss said. "You dragged me all the way here, now explain yourself."

 _ **"Over here,"**_ The voice said, leading the young Jedi to a small corner of the room. Then, against her own volition, Barriss sat down against the wall.

Barriss' face scrunched up. "This is where I found that green blob." She noted. Then it hit her. "Wait a minute, was that you?!"

 _ **"Yep,"**_ The voice replied.

"Oh, gods." Barriss said, as she put the pieces together in her mind. "You're in my skin." What happened next shocked her.

A stream of dark green goo sprouted from her shoulder, and the end expanded and morphed until it took the shape of a head. The same head Barris had seen in her reflection. _**"Hello, Barriss."**_ It said with a toothy grin. **_"It's nice to finally meet you."_**

"Who..." Barriss stammered. "Who the hell are you? What are you?"

 _ **"I...am Nightshade."**_ The voice replied. _**"And I am what you would call a Symbiote."**_

Barriss' eyebrows furrowed. "A Symbiote?" She gaped. "Here, on Coruscant?"

"My people have traveled across countless galaxies," The creature, Nightshade, replied. _**"We live to coexist with other life forms through symbiosis."**_

"So I have an alien parasite living under my skin." Barriss mused.

 _ **"Parasite?!"**_ Nightshade snapped, pressing her head against Barriss' own, her blank eyes boring into the Mirialan's skull. _**"How dare you? You've only known me for about a day and you already insult me. The nerve."**_

"I'm sorry," Barriss admitted. "I, er...didn't realize you took offense to that word."

 ** _"And I don't blame you."_** Nightshade grumbled, narrowing her eyes at her new host. _**"I wouldn't expect to know that calling me a parasite is considered the worst possible insult you could use against a Klyntar."**_

"I'm guessing that Klyntar is the proper name for your species." Barriss supposed.

 ** _"Yes."_** Nightshade replied. _**"But the term, "Symbiote", is just as fine."**_

Something crossed the Jedi's mind. "So, you were the one who made me act up last night?" She asked.

 ** _"That's right,"_** Nightshade said. _**"You'll get used to it, eventually. Because that's another thing about my kind. We tend to influence the thoughts and behaviors of our hosts, just as much as they do for us."**_

"And I'm not your first host, am I?" Barriss asked.

 ** _"You're actually my third host, even if you are the first Jedi host I've had."_** Nightshade replied. **_"But I distinctly remember that my first host ever was a Nekari man."_**

"How do you know that?" Barriss wondered.

Nightshade's already creepy grin widened mischievously. **_"You never forget your first."_** She replied cheekily.

Barriss tried, and failed, to hold back her blush. Then she sighed. "I take it one of your past hosts had a tendency to crack bad jokes."

 ** _"Depends on your definition of a bad joke."_** Nightshade countered.

Barriss buried her face in her hand and sighed. "I'm not sure how I'm going to survive this." She groaned.

 ** _"Well, get used to it."_** Nightshade replied. **_"Because the way I see it, you're stuck_** **_with me."_**

"Fantastic." Barriss said, sarcastically. Footsteps from nearby caught their attention, and Barriss recognized the presence as her friend Nazo. She turned to the head sprouting from her shoulder. "This discussion isn't over, by the way."

 ** _"Don't worry,"_** the Symbiote replied. **_"We'll have plenty of time to chat later,_** **_Barriss."_** With that, the head retreated back into Barriss' body, and the Mirialan shuddered. **_"You'll get used to that, too."_** Nightshade's voice spoke directly into Barriss' mind.

Barriss chose to ignore her passenger as Nazo, Anakin and Kaori entered the room. "Barriss," Nazo began. "We need to talk."

"If it's about the Symbiote," The Mirialan interrupted. "I already know."

"You do?" Kaori asked.

"I'll explain it later." Barriss muttered. "Let's get something to eat. I'm hungry."

* * *

"So," Nazo began, as the four of them sat down for breakfast. "You already figured out that you have a symbiote living inside you."

"Honestly," Barriss said nonchalantly, "I'm used to having something foreign taking up residence in my body."

"Hey, that's somethin' I've been meaning to ask Nazo." Kaori said. The aforementioned Jedi turned to her. "You had one o' those parasites in your head, but you didn't even notice until you sneezed it out. How'd that work?"

 ** _"Oh, now_ she's _calling me a parasite?"_** Nightshade snapped in Barriss' head, making the Jedi wince.

"She wasn't referring to you, Nightshade." Barriss said. "She was talking about a different kind of body invader. But she's right, Nazo. How did you resist those worms?"

"I really wish I had an answer for that." Nazo shrugged. "I guess my mind was just too complicated for those worms. Also, I wasn't aware your little friend had a name."

"Well, she does." Barriss sighed. "And if half of what you've told me about her species' habits, she's going to be affecting me in a lot of weird ways."

"Aww," Kaori said. "Sounds like she's really..." She winked and pointed finger guns at her sister. "Getting under your skin, eh?"

 ** _"Heeey,"_** Nightshade said, even though Barriss pinched the bridge of her nose in response to Kaori's pun. **_"I like her."_**

"Then why don't you stick to her from now on?" Barriss grumbled.

 ** _"Because I like you more, Berry~"_** Nightshade cooed.

"You do realize how weird it's going to be, listening to you apparently talk to yourself." Anakin said. "I mean, we all know that she's there, but that doesn't mean we know what she's saying."

Barriss sighed. "First she said that she liked Kaori because of her joke." She explained. Kaori blushed a bit. "And when I asked her why she didn't just bond with you more, she told me that she likes me more."

"And I'm a-okay with that." Kaori replied cheerfully.

"In any case," Nazo said. "We're going to have to work on a way to help you control this...thing, living under your skin."

Nightshade sprouted from Barriss' shoulder, surprising the other three. **_"The way I see_** **_it,"_** she said, as she pressed her head against Barriss' affectionately. **_"We can do_** **_whatever we want."_** As abruptly as she had appeared, the head disappeared back into her host's skin.

"Okay," Kaori said. "That was...weird."

"I don't know what's weirder," Anakin added. "That, or the fact that Barriss doesn't seem bothered by this at all."

"This isn't exactly the first time I've had something inside me." Barriss replied. Then, her eyes widened and she blushed when she realized what she'd said.

 ** _"Yeah,"_** Nightshade said teasingly. **_"You definitely could have worded that better."_**

Barriss sighed. "How did you guys figure out I had a Symbiote in me?" She asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I was up all night trying to figure it out, based on your symptoms." Nazo explained. "This morning, Madame Jocasta suggested that I ask my former Master, since he is an expert in the field, after all. So, I told him about the symptoms you showed. I've never seen him look as serious as he did when I described your situation."

"So, give it to me straight." Barriss asked. "Am I going to die if Nightshade stays inside me too long?"

"Not unless she decides she's done being under your skin." Nazo shrugged. "Master Oros told me stories of symbiotes killing their hosts because the symbiote didn't like the host in question."

Nightshade, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, decided to make her presence known again. **_"I'd like to point out,"_** She interjected. **_"That even if I_** **_wanted to kill Barriss, I would be forced to do it slowly, otherwise the effort would kill me, too."_**

"What would that entail for me?" Barriss asked, raising an eyebrow.

 ** _"Oh, you know."_** Nightshade said. **_"I'd slowly absorb your organs and leave your husk behind. I haven't done it before, of course. But if I had, that's how they'd have died."_**

"What do you mean by that?" Kaori asked.

 ** _"As far as I know,"_** Nightshade explained. **_"All my previous hosts are still alive."_**

Anakin would have added to that, but then he noticed that Luminara Unduli was sitting nearby. Then he turned to Barriss. "I just realized." He said. "How are you going to explain this to Master Unduli?"

Barriss followed his gaze and saw that her Master was there. She visibly paled. "Oh, gods." She muttered. "You're right. How am I going to explain this to her?"

 ** _"Oh, I don't know,"_** Nightshade cut in. **_"Did you consider just going over there and_** **_telling her?"_**

Barriss shot the disembodied head a glare. "So, is that what you're suggesting?" She asked. "I just waltz over there and say, "Hello Master. I don't know if you're aware, but I have a..." Nightshade's eyes narrowed, in a way that warned the Mirialan to choose her next words very carefully. "...A creature living inside me. No, this one talks back. A lot."

Nazo frowned. "You have a point, Barriss." He said. "We'll need to handle this situation gently."

 ** _"And if you call me a parasite when you finally decide to tell her,"_** Nightshade warned. **_"I might reconsider letting you live."_**

"You're bluffing." Barriss said plainly.

 ** _"You're right,"_** the symbiote admitted cheekily. **_"I'll leave you to it now, Berry. Talk to_** **_you later~"_**

"Gods above, this is going to be a mess." Barriss groaned. "Wish me luck, guys."

"You don't need it." Kaori said.

Barriss walked over to where Luminara was sitting. As the elder Jedi caught sight of her Padawan, she smiled. "Ah, Padawan," She greeted. "It's good to see you. Did you enjoy your walk?"

"Yes," Barriss replied. "It was very...enlightening."

Master Unduli's smile faded. "What's wrong, my Padawan?" She asked.

"Don't wimp out on me now, Barriss." Nightshade warned within her head.

The younger Jedi sighed. "There's something I need to tell you, Master."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, somewhere else on Coruscant..._

* * *

He tapped his foot impatiently, readjusting his mask. He drummed the fingers of his cybernetic left arm. He and his associate had been waiting for at least twenty minutes for their colleague.

"Have patience, boy." Grunted the other man, a massive Tauritian. He had his arms clasped behind his back.

"Easy for you to say," The human man grumbled. "Do you realize what's gonna happen if we get caught? You can't afford to let anyone find out you were here."

"You understand that you are also at risk." The Tauritian replied. "If you are caught associating with a Separatist Commander."

"Yeah, yeah," The human dismissed. "I'm just worried that our mole is gonna rat us out to the law."

"He won't." The Tauritian replied bluntly.

"How do you know that?" The Human asked.

"Because I have too much to lose if you get arrested." Answered a new voice. The Human lazily raised an eyebrow. The newcomer, a tall and lanky figure, approached them calmly.

"Shouldn't you be busy guarding the Temple, my friend?" The Tauritian asked.

"The Jedi are inconsequential." The stranger replied. "What matters is that the plan continues as we expect."

"You think that scrap pile Grievous is gonna take the bait?" The human asked.

"He would never turn up an opportunity to kill a Jedi." The Tauritian replied.

"But it will require us to wait a fair bit longer." The stranger added. "The girl has a meeting with the Senate that must go off with out a hitch."

"And when is that?" The human asked.

"In two more standard days." The stranger responded.

The Human grunted. "You sure you weren't followed, old geezer?" The human asked, looking around towards the alley way entrance.

"I am certain of it." The stranger replied.

"Good," The Tauritian added with a small grin. "Because we have work to do."

 **A/N: The plot thickens. To clarify, the Tauritians are pretty much like highly civilized versions of the Minotaur. And the guy with the cybernetic arm will be significant from now on. And can anyone guess who the third guy is?**

 **Anyway, we finally got some "screen time" for Nazo's former master, who's really a chill guy. If you couldn't already tell, I decided to write him with a Scottish accent (to the best of my ability)**

 **Also, can anyone guess why Nazo wasn't affected by the Geonosian worms?**

 **Anyway, next time, we get Luminara's reaction to Nightshade, and someone familiar makes a surprise appearance.**

 **Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


	4. Revealed

**Disclaimer: See Summary.**

 **A/N: Yeah, I'm back. And I have a request. To any up and coming artists out there, I need help. I need a cover image for this story. I'd like it to be Barriss in casual clothes, with Nightshade sticking out of her shoulder with a grin. It would also include Barriss looking back at the symbiote's head affectionately. A sketch will do. The only size requirements are that it needs to be big enough to fit as a cover image. Please don't include the link, since this website hates links. Please include your artist name, the name of the artwork, and the website where I can find the image, and I'll be sure to credit you for the work of art when I add it to the story. Thank you.**

 **Now, on to the reviews.**

 **Starwarshobbitfics: Well, having a symbiote living under your skin is less like owning a dog and more like maintaining a relationship, meaning Barriss' focus will be more on negotiating and communicating with Nightshade, as opposed to trying to control her.**

 **Mauryn: Yeah, you'll have to read the other stories for the characters to make sense. I'd recommend starting with Uncertain Futures, then Prelude to Altered Destinies, then Altered Destinies, then Fates Rewritten. Then, even though it's optional, you could also read The News after that.**

 **Also, yeah. I always liked the idea of Yoda being the kindly old grandfather that Palpatine likes to portray himself as, except that in Yoda's case, the behavior is genuine. And yeah, I already have a name for the Symbiote. Did you have an idea that you'd wanted to send?**

 **CT7567Rules: Awesome name, by the way. I don't think I've complimented you on that name before. But yeah, I'm all about surprises. I enjoy keeping my readers guessing. It keeps them eager for more.**

 **Sora Bulkhead: You're not too far off. But I think I'll let the characters play that out on their own, instead of explaining it all away in the A/N.**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

As Barriss finished explaining the situation, Luminara simply nodded along. The younger Jedi began to worry.

 _ **"She's not saying anything,"**_ Nightshade observed. **_"It's not too late to run."_**

 _No,_ Barriss thought. _We have to see this through._

 _ **"Alright,"**_ Nightshade sighed. _**"Your funeral."**_

 _Oh no,_ Barriss thought. _You're going down with me._

"So, to reiterate," Luminara finally said. "You have a Klyntar living in your skin. And she is the reason for your recent erratic behavior."

 _ **"Well,"**_ Nightshade said, sprouting from Barriss' shoulder. _**"I wouldn't say erratic, but I guess so."**_

Luminara seemed momentarily surprised by Nightshade's presence, but the surprise on her face faded quickly. "I assume that is something you can't control, my Padawan."

"I think it's less about control," Barriss argued. "And more about negotiation." Then, she smirked. "Heh, so much for not getting attached."

Luminara, however, didn't react as she expected. "This is serious, Padawan." Luminara reprimanded. "We need to do something about this...this creature living inside you."

 _ **"Oh, good."**_ Nightshade piped up. _**"For a second, I was worried that she was going to call me a parasite."**_

Luminara's eyebrow went up. "She hates being called a parasite." Barriss explained.

 _ **"Exactly."**_ Nightshade added. _**"Only the worst among symbiotes deserve that title."**_

"Nightshade?" Barriss asked. The symbiote turned her head towards Barriss with a sweet smile.

 ** _"Yes?"_** Nightshade said cheerfully.

"Please shut up." Barriss replied calmly. "I can speak for myself, thank you."

 ** _"Sorry."_** Nightshade said, retreating back into Barriss' skin.

"Who else knows about this?" Luminara asked.

"Apart from the two of us," Barriss answered. "Them..." She pointed to where Nazo, Kaori, and Anakin were sitting. She also noticed that they were pretending not to eavesdrop. "...And Master Oros. Apart from them, I don't think anyone knows."

"I see," Master Unduli pondered.

"So," Barriss continued. "What do we do now?"

"I believe the most logical next step would be to inform the council." Luminara said.

Barriss nodded. "I agree." She said. "They should at least be made aware." She sighed. "I just hope this doesn't affect my Senate meeting in two days."

Luminara put a hand on Barriss' shoulder. "Do not worry, my Padawan." She reassured. "I am sure that if we trust in the Force, all will work out in the end."

 _ **"Knull forbid something happen that could sabotage that."**_ Nightshade said.

"Who's Knull?" Barriss asked out loud. Luminara raised an eyebrow. "She just said 'Knull forbid'."

Nightshade sprouted from Barriss' shoulder. _**"Knull is regarded to be the Symbiote God." She explained. "Essentially, he created our species."**_

"I feel like there's some big story behind that." Barriss said.

 ** _"There is,"_** Nightshade confirmed. _**"But I don't remember it all that well. But that isn't important right now. What matters is making sure the council doesn't overreact to my presence."**_

Barriss frowned. "Just please don't embarrass me during the meeting, okay?" She said.

 ** _"Fine, whatever,"_** Nightshade said, retreating into Barriss' shoulder again. _**"If you need me to scare them, you know where to find me."**_

* * *

"Thank you for your time, Masters." Luminara said, acknowledging the Council. All but a few of the Jedi on the Council were physically present. Only Shaak Ti, who was on Kamino, and Ki-Adi Mundi, who was still on Hanatra, were only available through holoprojection.

"I take it this concerns Padawan Offee." Plo Koon said evenly.

"It does," Luminara confirmed. She turned to Barriss, gesturing for her to step forward. "Go ahead, Padawan." She encouraged.

Barriss took a deep breath. "Yesterday, when I was meditating," She began. "I found some sort of creature in the Room of a Thousand Fountains."

"What sort of creature?" Master Kolar asked.

"Well," Barriss sighed, biting her lip. "I think it would be better to show you."

With that, Nightshade emerged from Barriss' shoulder. _**"Hi."**_ She said, the head swinging around to take in the present Jedi.

For the most part, the Jedi in front of them seemed only mildly surprised by Nightshade's presence.

"Interesting," Obi-Wan said. "A Klyntar on Coruscant. That's certainly new."

"But how did it get here?" Mace Windu asked.

Nightshade's head whipped around to face the Korun Jedi. **_"I have a name, you know."_** She said. _**"It's Nightshade."**_

Windu seemed to disregard Nightshade as he continued. "How do we know it is not a threat?"

 ** _"I'm right here, by the way."_** Nightshade grumbled.

"According to her," Barriss spoke up. "She doesn't seem to want me dead. I'm still trying to work on ground rules for her."

"And you trust her?" Master Saesee Tiin asked.

Barriss simply shrugged. "It's not like I'm in a position not to, if I'm being honest." She explained. "After all, she is literally living under my skin."

"Perhaps we should inform the Chancellor of this development." Stass Allie suggested.

 ** _"That's a bad idea."_** Nightshade said, catching the attention of the other Jedi.

"What do you mean, Nightshade?" Barriss asked.

 _ **"My last host found something out about the Chancellor."**_ Nightshade explained. _**"He has more information on this than I do."**_

"And where could we find this...former host of yours?" Barriss asked.

 ** _"Oh, you don't find him."_** Nightshade explained. **_"He finds you. But if you want to be in the right place for him to find you, I can help."_**

"Is it safe to let me wander around Coruscant alone?" Barriss wondered. "I mean, there are likely tons of people who still think I'm a criminal."

Nightshade smiled wider. _**"You won't be alone."**_ She said. _**"Besides, if we run into anyone who might want to hurt you...well, a professional doesn't reveal all her tricks at once."**_

Barriss frowned. "That doesn't sound very promising." She said.

 ** _"Don't worry,"_** Nightshade said. _**"I know where to find him."**_

"What do you think of this, Master Yoda?" Mace asked, turning to the diminutive Jedi Grandmaster.

"Hmmm..." Yoda pondered. "Unusual, this is. But if something, concerning Chancellor Palpatine, this man has, vital, it is, that he be brought here. Find him, Padawan Offee should."

Barriss nodded. "I'll be sure to bring him here as soon as possible."

* * *

Barriss had taken a taxi into the part of town Nightshade had told her about. "Alright," She said. "You dragged me out here, now where do we go?"

 ** _"There's a food market not too far from here,"_** Nightshade explained. **_"We should start there."_**

"Any reason why?" Barriss asked.

 ** _"I'm hungry,"_** was the cheeky reply.

Barriss pinched the bridge of her nose. "Seriously?" She asked. "We're supposed to be looking for your previous host."

 ** _"We are,"_** Nightshade countered. **_"But is there really any sense in doing so on an empty stomach?"_**

"We have a job to do, Nightshade." Barriss argued.

 ** _"But I'm hungry..."_** Nightshade whined.

"You know what," Barriss said. "You'll just have to deal with it."

 ** _"I could start by feasting on your liver."_** The symbiote warned.

"Not buying it." Barriss replied, completely unconvinced. Nightshade whimpered.

Barriss sighed. "Fine," she relented, much to her passenger's joy. "But we're only getting something small."

 ** _"Okay."_** Nightshade replied happily.

"Just don't get used to it." Barriss mumbled as she turned the corner. "I don't want you using me to get whatever you want. If I'm going to be stuck with you from now on, I think it's high time I set some ground rules."

 _ **"Alright,"**_ Nightshade said. _**"Fire away."**_

"Rule number one," Barriss began, ignoring the stares people were giving her. "You don't get to control my body unless it's a life-threatening emergency, and only if I give my approval before hand."

 ** _"And if you get knocked out?"_** Nightshade asked.

"Then do what you must to get us out of there safely." Barriss replied. "Second, I've been told that having you living in my skin will give me certain advantages. What were they again?"

 _ **"Enhanced senses, speed, strength, and appetite."**_ Nightshade answered.

"Right." Barriss said. "So, we will only hurt bad people, and only as a last resort."

 ** _"Define 'Bad People'."_** Nightshade requested.

"Anyone who would wish harm towards us or our friends." Barriss explained.

 _ **"And if those people**_ **are** _ **our friends?"**_ Nightshade asked.

"Then we do everything in our power to stop them, without killing them." Barriss said, emphasizing the part about not killing them.

 _ **"Okay."**_ Nightshade said. **_"Anything else?"_**

"Stop reading my thoughts with my knowledge." Barriss said.

 _ **"Alright."**_ The Symbiote said. _**"I accept your terms."**_

"Good." Barriss said as they entered the store. She casually acknowledged the old man behind the counter as he greeted her. "So," She muttered, looking at the shelves of snacks. "What culinary concoction tickles your fancy tonight?"

 ** _"Chocolate."_** Nightshade replied. _**"King sized, no nuts."**_

"Good choice." Barriss said with a smile. She sorted through the various candies before her, finally coming up on the right one.

A noise caught her attention. Two thugs entered the store, and immediately turned their attention to the man behind the counter.

"Time's up, old man." The first guy, a Rodian, said. He pulled out a blaster and aimed it at the old man. "Where's our money."

"Yeah," The second guy, a Human, added, aiming his own blaster at the poor shop keeper. "You're three days overdue, old geezer."

"Aw, gee." The old man replied, hastily readjusting his glasses before sticking his hands up. "I thought it wasn't for another few days."

"Well, you thought wrong." The Rodian said. The two thugs were unaware that Barriss was nearby, secretly watching them.

 _ **"Bad guys?"**_ Nightshade asked excitedly.

"Yep." Barriss replied quietly. "Do you want to do this, or do you think I can handle it myself?"

 _ **"Have at it, Berry."**_ Nightshade said. Barriss smirked as she snuck around the two thugs.

"You gonna give us our money, old timer?" The Rodian asked, pointing the muzzle of his blaster at the register. "Or are we gonna have to take it off your corpse?"

"H-Hang on," The old man stammered. "Just...Just a minute."

"Is something wrong, gentlemen?" Barriss asked innocently, catching the two thugs off guard. She gave them her best smile.

"Hey," The Rodian thug grunted. "It's the green bitch that blew up the Jedi temple."

Barriss chuckled. "Oh, I assure you, the claims that I betrayed the Jedi are very exaggerated." She said. "So, any reason you two upstanding citizens are holding this nice old man at gunpoint?"

"Piss off, girl." The human thug grunted. "This don't concern you."

"Oh, I beg to differ, gentlemen." Barriss said. "I think you two have overstayed your welcome. Now, on behalf of this kind old man, either you two should buy something or get lost. Okay?"

"Hmm." The human thug said. "How bout no?"

"You know what, Kenve?" The Rodian said. "I think we oughta teach this Jedi bitch a lesson."

"Hehehe," Kenve snickered, aiming his blaster at her. "I couldn't agree more, Jisudo."

"Oooh," Barriss said, raising her arms in mock surrender. "That was a bad idea."

What happened next surprised even her. She lunged forward, ducking under a shot from Jisudo, yanking the blaster from his hand and throwing it across the room. Then she put the Rodian between her and Kenve, preventing him from shooting at her without putting his companion at risk. Then, Barriss spun around, grabbing the two thugs by the back of the head, and she knocked their skulls together. The two crooks dropped like sacks of potatoes.

She brushed her hands against her dress, and pulled the chocolate bar and a credit chip from her pocket. "Phew," She sighed. "Sorry about the mess, mister. I'd suggest you call the authorities before they wake up."

"Alright." The old man said, a small smile on his mustached face. He accepted the credit chip and handed her the candy.

"Thank you, sir." She said as she took the chocolate bar.

"No," The old man replied. "Thank you. Maybe those two punks will learn from their mistakes." Barriss smiled, happy to have helped. As she turned to leave, the old man piped up again. "Hey," He said. She turned around. "You be careful out there. Both of you."

Barriss smiled. "Thanks." She said. "We will."

 ** _"What a nice man,"_** Nightshade observed.

"Yeah," Barriss agreed. "If only we had more people like him in this world." She left the store, and the old man turned to alert the police.

"Heh," He chuckled. "I guess one person can make a difference."

 **A/N: So, what do you think? I know, it feels too much like I'm lifting scenes directly from Venom. But seriously, I enjoyed that movie. I originally had more planned for this chapter, but I thought that leaving it there was a good stopping point.**

 **Also, I think it's obvious who the old man should be.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, we get introduced to Nightshade's previous host, and we also get to see the symbiote in action for the first time.**

 **Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**

 **Excelsior!**


	5. Encounter

**Disclaimer: See summary.**

 **A/N: Okay, so remember when I asked for name suggestions for Nightshade? Well, I'm still looking for names that could work for a symbiote. I might include another symbiote, but I don't know for sure. Still, it's nice to have something in place just to be sure.**

 **I'm still looking for a cover image, so any aspiring artists out there are welcome to give it a go.**

 **Anyway, this time, Barriss and Nightshade meet the previous host, and have their first true bonding experience (wink wink).**

 **Also, there will be some strong language, suggestive themes, and moderate violence in this chapter.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Anakin was getting restless. Barriss still hadn't found this previous host Nightshade had been talking about. Contrary to popular assumption, he cared about Barriss, just like he did for Kaori and Nazo. Which had made her supposed betrayal that much harder on him.

"You know," Nazo said, breaking Anakin out of his thoughts. "You're going to bore a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that."

"I know." Anakin grumbled. "But I'm worried about Barriss."

"And you think we aren't, mate?" Kaori asked.

"No," Anakin said. "That's not it. I'm just not sure if it was a good idea for Barriss to go find this guy on her own."

"You're afraid that someone who still believes she's the real culprit is going to find her." Nazo said, reading Anakin's thoughts.

"Okay," Anakin said, facing the other man. "First, get out of my head. Second, yes, I'm worried someone's going to attack her."

"Even though she has a freaking symbiote living inside her?" Kaori asked.

"And that helps, how, exactly?" Anakin wondered.

"If what Master Oros told me is accurate," Nazo said. "Having Nightshade with her will help in the long run."

"What makes you say that?" Anakin asked.

Nazo just shrugged. "Call it a hunch." He replied.

Anakin's brow furrowed. "I still don't see the point in us needing this guy." He said. "How could he be so important in all this if he doesn't even want to be found?"

"We'll just have to wait and see, Anakin." Nazo replied.

"If there's something bad going on, concerning Chancellor Palpatine, we oughtta know." Kaori added.

"But there's nothing serious concerning the Chancellor." Anakin argued. Both of his companions froze.

Nazo shot to his feet with uncharacteristic anger. "Really?" He snapped. "And how are you so sure about that?"

"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked, concerned with his friends' change in attitude.

"Doesn't it bother you that Palpatine hasn't just cleared us for a direct assault on Dooku yet?"

"Yeah," Kaori added. "And don'tcha remember the Malevolence incident? How Padmé showed up in the middle of the fight?"

"How is that relevant?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, sweet Christmas." Kaori muttered, burying her face in her hand. "She said she was there after the Chancellor himself, told her that the Banking clan was open to negotiations. And then after that, when Padmé tried to explain that to the Senate, he kept changing the subject."

"Okay, I remember that." Anakin said. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"We see how you are after you meet with him, Skywalker." Nazo said sternly. "I sense the anger toiling away at you. He asks to speak with you and then plants doubt in your head about us, your friends."

"So yeah, we're a little worried about you." Kaori added. "And Barriss would agree if she were here. And...Nightshade too, I guess. But the point is, we're worried that you don't trust us anymore. We grew up together, and now we're afraid that you're being turned against us."

Anakin thought he had an answer for her, but the words died in his throat. She put a hand on his shoulder and continued. "Look, mate. I know the Code technically says love is evil, but we all know how bullshit that is. So, I'm gonna say it here. I love you Anakin Skywalker. You're very much a brother to me. I'm worried about your well being." She pulled him into a hug.

"We both are," Nazo added, walking over and putting a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Granted, you're a reckless, stubborn, thick-headed jackass with a track record for crazy plans, but your heart is in the right place."

Kaori smirked. "Even if your 'ead is in another castle sometimes, mate." She joked. Anakin chuckled.

"Thanks guys." He said.

"Listen, man." Kaori said. "Just try not to trust him too much, alright?"

Anakin sighed. "Okay." He relented. "I'll try."

In what would likely go down in history as the worst Yoda impression ever, Kaori reprimanded him. "Try not, young Skywalker." She croaked. "Do, or do not. There is no try."

Ten seconds passed before the three of them bent over laughing.

* * *

"Okay," Barriss said, munching on the chocolate bar. "We got you a snack, now can we please focus on finding this guy?"

 _ **"Yes,"**_ Nightshade said. _**"Now we can get back to business."**_

"Good." Barriss sighed. "Because the sooner we find this guy, the better. It better be worth it, by the way."

 ** _"Trust me,"_** Nightshade said. _**"It'll totally be worth it in the end, Berry."**_

Barriss smirked. "I'm going to have to get used to you calling me that, aren't I?"

 _ **"Yep."**_ Nightshade replied. _**"So, who's Ahsoka?"**_

Barriss paused. "Pardon?"

 ** _"She used to call you Berry, didn't she?"_** Nightshade asked.

"I...How do you know that?" Barriss countered. She could feel the deadpan look Nightshade was sending her. "Oh, right. You're already in my head."

 _ **"Yeah."**_ Nightshade said. _**"So, you cared about her deeply, didn't you?"**_

"Yes." Barriss sighed. "She was one of my closest friends."

 _ **"Liar."**_ Nightshade reprimanded. _**"She was more to you than just a friend, and you know it."**_

Barriss sighed. "You're right. She was like a little sister to me. Which is why her leaving the Jedi Order affected me the way it did."

 _ **"I see."**_ Nightshade replied. **_"So, maybe after we find my old host, we could go look for Ahsoka."_**

"Are you crazy?" Barriss hissed. "Every second I spend out in public paints a bigger target on my back."

 _ **"Why?"**_ Nightshade asked innocently.

"Because not everyone knows that I'm innocent." Barriss replied. "There are people who still believe that I'm dangerous. That I should be executed for what I allegedly did."

 ** _"Oh, I see now."_** Nightshade replied. _**"You mean people like them?"**_

"Who?" Barriss asked.

Half a second later, her body ducked under a blaster bolt against her own volition. She wheeled around to see a group of thugs of various species approaching her. She turned to run the other way but stopped when she realized that they had her surrounded.

"Well, crap." She muttered, as the leader of the group, a human man, stepped forward.

"Well, well. What have we here?" He purred. Barriss made note of the vibroblade on his back. "It's the bitch that got Kenve and Jisudo arrested." He cracked his knuckles. "Guess we ought to teach this Jedi bitch a lesson. Shouldn't we, boys?" The other goons laughed.

"Look," Barriss said, holding her hands up. "I don't want any trouble."

"You should've thought about that before you betrayed your own people." The human said. "And put two of my boys in the slammer." He unsheathed the blade, and it crackled to life. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Fortunately, I do not." Barriss replied evenly.

"Well, now you will." The human replied. "You can call me Gray Corvus. Leader of the Blood Fangs, the most notorious gang in the Core Worlds."

"Hmm..." Barriss said. "Thank you for telling me. Now I know what to tell the authorities when it's time for you to join your buddies in prison."

"Heh, this chick's got a mouth on her." Corvus said, speaking to his goons. Then he aimed the tip of his blade at her throat. "A shame I need to cut your throat now. You'd make a nice pet."

Barriss raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a fight you want to pick, friend." She said evenly.

"Is that so?" Corvus asked, his orange eyes locking with her crystal blue ones. "In case you forgot, there's ten of us, and one of you. We have blasters and swords. So, just how do you expect to beat me and my boys without your lightsaber?"

Barriss smirked. "Like this." She sidestepped his blade and smashed her fist into his nose. He dropped like a rock. Barriss whooped as she pulled her fist back.

Corvus hit the ground, clutching at his now broken nose. Barriss looked around, as she realized that the goons were too shocked by what had just happened to react.

 _ **"Now would be a good time to get the heck out of here."**_ Nightshade snapped.

Barriss came to her senses, and Corvus started pulling himself up. "Well, don't just stand there, you idiots!" He snarled, picking up his blade. "Kill that bitch!"

Barriss reacted a full two seconds before them, leaping into the air and landing about ten feet away. The goons turned around, raising their weapons, but Barriss had already taken off the other way.

"Damn it." Corvus hissed. Then he pulled a com link out of his pocket. "She's on the move." He said. "Cut her off." Then he turned to the others. "Let's go, boys." They took off after her.

Barriss weaved through the crowds in an attempt to lose them. Obviously, these guys didn't care about civilians getting caught in the crossfire, because they shot at her without regard for the innocent people in their way.

"Where are we going, Nightshade?" Barriss asked.

 ** _"You'll see."_** Nightshade answered. _**"But first we'll need a ride."**_ Barriss looked around, before she caught sight of a speeder bike. _**"That'll do."**_

Without thinking, she leaped to the bike and started it up. "Sorry," She shouted, hoping that the owner of the bike would understand. "I promise I'll bring it back." Then, she tore off into the hover lanes.

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy." She repeated.

 ** _"And we're doing it anyway."_** Nightshade said, enjoying the thrill.

A shot from behind her almost made her swerve into a parked speeder taxi, and she whipped her head around to see three speeders full of Blood Fangs chasing her.

"Shit," She spat out. "These guys really want me dead that badly?"

 _ **"Apparently."**_ Nightshade replied. As she weaved through traffic, she noticed the blaster holstered on board. _**"Take it. I'll deal with driving this thing."**_

Reluctantly, the Mirialan Jedi picked up the blaster, which definitely looked like it had been heavily modified. She took aim at her pursuers and noticed that the dark green goo that made up Nightshade's form had crept across the steering.

"Don't let her get away!" She could hear Corvus yell.

 _ **"Persistent morons."**_ Nightshade muttered. _**"Heads up!"**_

Barriss looked forward, and saw that they'd set up a road block. She was moving too fast to stop, and they were still chasing her.

"So, this is how I die." She said.

 ** _"We're not going to die."_** Nightshade argued. Suddenly, a dark green column of goop shot out of Barriss' left flank and latched onto the nearest light post. The speeder made a sharp left turn and she took off down the road.

Her pursuers stopped as they were unable to readily follow her.

"Okay," Barriss said, as she glanced back at them. "I have to admit, that was pretty awesome."

Unbeknownst to her, Corvus had split off from the others, and was cutting her off. His speeder rammed into her, and she went flying. She sailed through the air, smashing through the wall of an old warehouse, and tumbled across the floor before smacking into a wall.

She looked at herself, and would have yelped it didn't hurt her lungs so much. Her leg was twisted out of shape, and the bones in her arm were sticking out. Several of her fingers were broken as well. And if the pain in her chest was any indicator, at least a few of her ribs were fractured.

Corvus hopped out of his speeder and made his way over to her, blade in hand. "I must say," He said, flipping his blade. "You've given me and my gang a hard time."

"Well." Barriss muttered to the best of her ability. "I aim to please."

Corvus grabbed her by the throat as he lifted his blade. "But it's the end of the line for you, little lady. I'd say it's been nice to know you, but then I'd be lying." In the distance, Barriss could see several of Corvus' goons approaching.

Then something unexpected happened. The dark goop emerged from Barriss' body and began repairing the damage. Barriss felt her arms and legs getting patched up as the goop continued to cover her body. Then, one clawed arm shot up and wrapped around Corvus' throat. She slowly lifted off the ground.

Corvus' eyes widened with shock as the Mirialan's face disappeared into the goop, replaced with something out of a nightmare. A hairless head sprouted from the slime, with large blank eyes and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Said mouth was pulled up in a sinister grin.

 _ **"Mmm..."**_ The creature growled. _**"So many organs to eat, so little time."**_ The smile widened as it traced its tongue across his face. Then the beast threw him across the room, growling. _**"Who else wants some?"**_

"Shoot it!" Corvus yelled as he pulled himself up. "Freaking kill it!"

"Please don't kill anyone, Nightshade." Barriss said from within Nightshade's form.

 _ **"Fine."**_ Nightshade said. _**"But can I at least beat them up?"**_

"Go for it."

Nightshade launched forward and grabbed one goon by the leg and slammed him around, smacking him into his comrades before tossing him into a nearby stack of barrels. The trandoshan in the group charged forward with a snarl, but Nightshade countered the attack and tossed the reptilian thug away like a rag doll.

As Corvus watched his men get thrashed, he quietly slipped away back onto his speeder. Several of his cronies caught sight of this and abandoned the fight.

Nightshade grinned as the other goons ran off. _**"Mess with us again, and we won't go so easy on you."**_ She roared.

The speeders tore off, leaving the symbiote and her host alone in the old warehouse.

Nightshade retreated back into Barriss' body. "What in the world was that?!" Barriss asked, gasping for breath.

 _ **"That, my dear Berry,"**_ Nightshade said. _**"Is our full potential."**_

Barriss panted as she felt her arms and legs. "My bones were broken." She observed.

 _ **"Yes, they were."**_ Nightshade said. _**"With me around, you don't have to worry about things like that."**_

Barriss paused for a moment. "I'm not going to want to...eat people, am I?"

 _ **"Not on my account, no."**_ Nightshade replied.

"Okay, good." Barriss sighed. "I was getting worried. Now, let's get back to work."

She was about to leave and continue her search, when a voice came from behind her.

"It's about time you two showed up."

 **A/N: Ooh, a cliffhanger. I'm not ashamed to pull that plan. But still, I think this is enough for now.**

 **I'm not one hundred percent sure how much of this story and The Ultimate Return that I want to keep working on before I move back to Mercytale.**

 **Also, I won't give too much detail, but rest assured, Corvus will be significant to the future of this story.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, we get a proper introduction to the previous host, and certain things come to light.**

 **Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


	6. Meeting the Hacker

**Disclaimer: See Summary**

 **A/N: Okay, I don't want to put this story on hold too long. There are just so many ideas floating around in my head about how to advance the plot, and there's so much to be done in a certain time frame (Within the chronology of the story itself) that I need to sort out to avoid excessive plot holes.**

 **Again, I am still in need of a cover image for this story. Any talented artists are welcome to try. Just please make sure to notify me where I can find it.**

 **Anyway, now we get to properly meet the previous host. Enjoy.**

* * *

The man stepped out of the shadows, clapping slowly. "Bravo, bravo." He said. Barriss made a note of the fact that his right arm was a cybernetic implant. "That was a fantastic performance, doll."

"Um...thanks?" Barriss asked shakily.

"Oh, I was talking to your partner," The man said, nodding towards her shoulder. "But yeah, you did well out there too, I guess."

Nightshade emerged from the Mirialan's shoulder. _**"It's good to see you again, Azio."**_ She said. _**"Sorry about the bike."**_

"Eh, fuggedaboutit." Azio said, dismissing the now wrecked speeder bike. "It got its job done, and that's all that matters. Besides, I can afford to get it replaced. You, on the other hand, are irreplaceable."

 _ **"You're damned right I am, Azzy."**_ Nightshade replied proudly.

"Wait, that bike was yours?" Barriss asked, turning to face the man. "Also, Azzy?"

"So, I can tell ya made it to the temple a-okay." Azio said, seemingly ignoring the Jedi's question.

 _ **"Oh, getting there was no trouble at all."**_ Nightshade replied nonchalantly. _**"It was getting my new host's attention that was the hard part."**_

"I imagine it was." Azio said.

"I am standing right here." Barriss said, raising her voice.

 ** _"Quiet, Berry."_** Nightshade said, reprimanding the Jedi woman. **_"The adults are trying to have a conversation here."_**

Barriss pouted. "I'd like to be a part of it, if you don't mind." She huffed. "Could you at least introduce me to your little friend here?"

"Hey, I ain't little!" Azio protested. In fact, he was a good three inches taller than her, not counting the spikes of his hair.

 **"Oh, alright."** Nightshade said, turning to face the silver-haired young man. _**"Azio Merelli, this is Barriss Offee. Barriss Offee, this is Azio Merelli."**_

"The finest coding expert on the planet, at your service." Azio said, taking a dramatic bow. "I'm also a top notch hacker."

"I see." Barriss said. "I'm guessing you're Nightshade's previous host."

"You'd be right, doll face." Azio smirked.

"And I'd also be right in assuming you intentionally led her to me." Barriss continued.

"Right again, gorgeous." Azio said proudly.

Barriss' brow furrowed as something began to dawn on her. "You were the one who programmed that droid to frame me for the temple bombing." She said, her voice dropping an octave.

Azio's smirk faded as the implications caught on. "Now, I know it sounds bad when ya say it like that but-" His train of thought was promptly cut off when Barriss' leg shot out and smashed him in the groin. He immediately dropped like a stone, squealing in pain and curling up in a fetal position.

 _ **"Nice shot,"**_ Nightshade commended, grinning mischievously.

"Thanks." Barriss said, refusing to take her eyes off of the man who'd nearly cost her and Ahsoka their lives. She simply cracked her knuckles. "Start talking, or I'll kick you again."

Aziaro grunted, shakily getting back to his feet, his hands still shielding his damaged nether regions. "In my defense," he began, voice still higher pitched than normal. "I wouldn't have agreed to this if I'd known what it would lead to. The guy who recruited me for the job wasn't exactly the type to answer questions."

Barriss frowned. She didn't seem convinced that this guy was telling the truth. "Did it not occur to you that you nearly got me and my friend killed? That if it hadn't been for close friends of mine, I would likely be dead?"

"Ah, come on, I had to." Azio countered. "My life was on the line. I know things about our enemy that put me smack on top of his hit list. I can't afford to let my plans fail now."

"What plans?" Barriss asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I can't tell ya just yet." Azio replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I still have some things that I need to do. Gimme a few days and I'll get back to ya about this. And keep this little meeting between us discreet, ya hear me? I can't afford to let our enemy find out I'm leaking his secrets to the good guys just yet. This conversation never happened, ya got it?"

Barriss sighed. "Fine." She groaned. "But please, remember that I'm holding you to that promise."

"Alright." Azio said. "I gotcha. You got that meeting with the Senate to prove your innocence, right?"

Barriss froze. "How do you know about that?" She asked.

Azio chuckled. "Eh, let's just say that not much happens around here that I don't know about." He replied cryptically, before turning around and walking away. "Look, I gotta go. Catch ya later. And take care of her for me."

"I will." Barriss said.

Azio turned around. "I was talking to Nightshade." He smirked. "Oh, and by the way, I wouldn't have been able to hack into that droid without inside help. So, you also have a mole to deal with. Ciao!" With that, he was gone.

"Well, that was...strange." Barriss said.

 _ **"You don't know half of it."**_ Nightshade replied, retreating back into Barriss' body. _**"I had to put up with that guy for three years."**_

"That explains a lot." Barriss said, rolling her eyes.

 ** _"What's that supposed to mean?"_** Nightshade hissed.

"Nothing." Barriss chuckled. "Let's just get home before we get into any more trouble."

* * *

"So, I'm guessing he didn't have much to say about Palpatine or why we apparently shouldn't trust him." Anakin said, after Barriss had explained everything.

"Unfortunately, no." Barriss sighed. "But he did say he would come find me after my hearing with the Senate."

"And you're certain that we can trust this guy?" Anakin asked.

Barriss just shrugged. "Honestly, it's not like we have many options."

"What I'm worried about is how you managed to hold off Gray Corvus and his goons." Nazo spoke up.

"Why's that such a big deal, mate?" Kaori asked.

"Because Gray Corvus and his gang are notorious fighters." Nazo said. "Trust me, I've encountered members of the Blood Fangs on some missions in the Outer Rim. They can go toe to toe with the clones, and even hold their own against Jedi like us. And that's just considering the standard thugs. Corvus himself has allegedly taken a few Jedi down. So I'd like to know how you managed to overpower him and ten of his thugs without your lightsaber."

Barriss shrugged. "Like this." She said. "Nightshade?" In a second, the dark green substance that made up the symbiote enveloped her skin, and the alien creature emerged completely, long tongue and all. Anakin and Kaori jolted backwards in shock, but Nazo's reaction was far more reserved. In fact, he seemed to be anticipating this transformation.

"Just as I thought." He said, as Nightshade turned to face him. "Master Oros told me that this was something that happened to a symbiote's hosts."

Nightshade's head peeled away, revealing Barriss' head underneath. "This is trippy," She said. Then she caught sight of her body.

"What is it, sis?" Kaori asked, as she recovered from her shock.

Barriss raised an eyebrow. "Is my butt really that big, or is it you, Nightshade?"

The suit retreated into her body again, and Nightshade emerged from the Mirialan's shoulder. **"A bit of both, I guess."** She replied. _**"You do have some pretty solid curves, my friend."**_

Barriss blushed, but otherwise resisted the urge to respond. Off to the side, Kaori chuckled a bit.

"What I want to know is how Nightshade can do that." Anakin cut in.

Nightshade turned to face the other Jedi. _**"I can seep through Barriss' skin cells."**_ She said. _**"Seeping through the individual seams of her clothes is like child's play to me."**_

"So now what do we do?" Barriss asked. "I still need to smooth things over with the Senate in a few days."

"I'm sure we'll have a plan by then." Anakin said, hoping to reassure her.

"Well, I still need to explain that someone hacked one of the PROXY droids." Barriss continued. "What do I tell them when they ask about finding the hacker?"

 _ **"Tell them the truth."**_ Nightshade answered. _**"That the hacker is still out there and that steps are being taken to find him."**_

"Not to mention," Anakin added. "We still need to identify the Jedi who assisted in the act. Because whoever it is is also responsible for you ending up in that crawlspace. Only someone with free access to the temple could have done it."

"And 'ow are we gonna have Barriss explain that little detail?" Kaori asked.

"I think I have an idea of who did it." Nazo said. All heads, including Nightshade's, snapped to the Jedi in question. "I have a theory."

"Lay it on us, mate." Kaori said.

"Well, consider this," Nazo began. "Barriss was attacked almost immediately after the funeral for the Jedi killed in the bombing. Certainly, the assailant couldn't have taken her far from where he or she knocked her out without being spotted. After some consideration, I discovered that the only one close enough to be a possible culprit would be one of the temple guards."

"How'd you figure that one out, Sherlock?" Anakin asked.

Nazo smirked. "Elementary, dear Skywalker." He replied good-naturedly. "That, and the fact that I'm a goddamn genius." The others started laughing.

"Great!" Kaori said after a moment. "Now all we need to find this mole."

"Perhaps we could try to do that as Barriss smooths things over with the Senate." Nazo suggested.

"I don't know," Anakin said. "What about what happens when we find this traitor?"

"Seriously?" Kaori asked. "Mate, it would be three highly skilled Jedi knights against one. The hardest part will be preventing this bugger from making it look like we're the traitors."

"It would also be our words against his or hers." Nazo countered. "Chances are that we'd be trusted more than the traitor."

"Let's just take this one step at a time." Barriss said. "We also need to keep tabs on Azio. He could be anywhere. And it's like he said, not much can happen without him knowing about it."

* * *

Azio smirked. That Jedi chick was a lot cuter in person. A shame he had to do all this to her before the Galaxy could be considered safe from the Sith. Not that he didn't think the end results would be worth the trouble. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, or nether regions in his case.

 _"I take it you didn't leak too much to her, did you?"_ The Tauritian grunted, hands clasped behind his back.

"Nah, I kept her guessing." Azio said dismissively. "No shame in keepin' them guessing, right?"

The large bull man simply narrowed his eyes. _"How long must we continue to wait?"_ He asked.

"About two days." Azio replied. "That's when her meeting with the Senate is taking place."

 _"You should have suggested to her that she offer to hunt Grievous."_ The Tauritian replied.

"Fuggedaboutit." Azio replied. "I got someone on the inside who could help with that."

 _"Good."_ The large warmonger said, the slightest of smiles lighting his face. _"The next step of the plan is in motion."_

"I may have also told her about the rat in her order." Azio added.

The Tauritian raised an eyebrow. _"That is of little significance to me."_ He said. _"I will deal with that little detail later."_

"Hey, uh, just outta curiosity," The master hacker asked. "Why can't you just take Grievous outta the picture yourself?"

 _"Because, boy,"_ The tall alien growled. _"I can't move against General Grievous without raising suspicions from Dooku and Lord Sidious. If we are to move forward with our plans, it has to be a Jedi who takes him down."_

"Don't ya think sending Obi-Wan Kenobi after him would be the more poetic option?" Azio asked.

 _"And deny your little friend the opportunity to prove herself to her fellow Jedi, and to the Republic?"_ The Tauritian challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"She ain't my friend." Azio argued. "She's just a poor gal who got caught up in a tangled web of madness."

 _"And we shall be instrumental in untangling it."_ The taller man replied. _"You just need to have faith in our plans. And when the time is right, we shall both have retribution."_

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The Coruscanti native sighed. "But if ya don't mind my asking, why are you bothering with my help, anyway? I support the Republic, and you support the Separatists. What's that all about?"

 _"I have no qualms with the Jedi, unlike many Separatists."_ The Taurtitian replied. _"They live by a code of honor, which I can respect. If ending this war means aiding the Jedi, then so be it. I will do whatever I can to save Taru Prime from collapse. But our plan hinges on your Jedi pet taking down Grievous."_

"Gotcha." Azio nodded. "Hey, you don't think old man Sidious knows we're doing all this, right?"

The Tauritian simply chuckled. _"He only pretends to know everything, boy. That's how he psyches his enemies out. He lets them think he is unaware, and then he does everything in his power to make it seem like he knew your deception the entire time. In reality, he's as clueless as everyone else, but he is just too proud and cowardly to admit it._

 _"Think about it, boy. If Darth Sidious considered you to be a true threat, he wouldn't have let you live. As it stands, he has convinced himself that you are harmless, and therefore inconsequential to his plans."_

"You got a point there, I guess." Azio shrugged. "Alright, but I'll try to stay hush-hush for now."

 _"Good."_ The warlord rumbled. _"I will keep in touch."_ With that, the connection cut.

"Ah, this shit better work in the end." Azio sighed. "I hope you have a plan, Nightshade. The galaxy is counting on you two."

 **A/N: So, I'd like to go more in depth with Azio's motives, but that can wait a few chapters, can't it? For now, I'd like to give a better description of who he is. Basically, I partly based his personality off of Angel Dust, from the upcoming web-series Hazbin Hotel (My head canon voice for Azio also happens to be Michael Kovach, who voices Angel Dust).**

 **He and the Tauritian (whose current head canon voice actor is Christopher Judge) will play a big role moving forward.**

 **Next chapter, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm probably going to go back to working on Mercytale. I know I want to do more in this story between now and when Barriss presents her case to the Senate, I just don't know what that would be.**

 **Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


	7. The Hearing

**Disclaimer: See Summary.**

 **A/N: Well, here we are again. I know I wanted to keep the time skips down to a minimum, but I couldn't think of anything else that could fill the time between the end of the last chapter and Barriss' hearing with the Senate. Nothing that I couldn't add as dialogue on the characters' part, anyway.**

 **Anyway, I won't be able to update as often because I need to dedicate more time to school, but I promise I'll be hard at work on these stories as well, and I will update them whenever I get the chance.**

 **So, with that out of the way, let's begin.**

* * *

The day of Barriss' hearing had arrived. This would be the day where the young Jedi would hopefully prove her innocence to the Republic. At the moment, said Jedi was still asleep. Such was how her master found her. The elder Jedi sighed.

"Barriss, it is time to wake up." She said. "Your meeting is today."

 _ **"Yeah, Berry."**_ Nightshade added, sprouting from her host's shoulder. _**"Nap time's over."**_

"Just a few more minutes." Barriss mumbled, turning over in her sleep. The symbiote hastily retreated back into Barriss' shoulder and emerged out of the other one.

 ** _"Then I guess you would rather be branded a traitor by the Republic."_** She huffed. _**"Because knowing what I do, they'll probably spin some bullshit story about you actually staging your own framing."**_

"What are you ranting about now, Night?" Barriss asked, still half asleep.

 _ **"There are those among the Republic who would gladly use any excuse they could to have your ass thrown in prison, or worse."**_ Nightshade explained. Then she fell into what seemed like a coughing fit, although Barriss definitely heard her passenger spit out the name "Tarkin" at some point.

"I told you already," Barriss said. "Give me a few more minutes." The symbiote pouted, before exchanging a look with Master Unduli.

 _ **"Come on, Berry."**_ She said, using her head to push the covers off of the pajama-clad Jedi. **_"Up and at 'em."_**

"No!" Barriss groaned, yanking the blanket back over her head. Nightshade sighed.

 _ **"Fine."**_ She grumbled. _**"I'll do it myself."**_

With that, she withdrew back into her host's body, and Barriss snapped awake. "What are you doing?" She asked. Then she found herself tossed out of bed and on to the floor. "Alright, alright, I'm up." Barriss huffed, pulling the tangled blanket off of herself. The symbiote emerged from Barriss' shoulder with a smug grin on her face.

"Thank you, Nightshade." Luminara said happily.

 ** _"You're very welcome, Master Unduli."_** Nightshade replied politely.

"You know, Padawan," Luminara said with a smile. "I think I could get used to having Nightshade around."

The Padawan groaned, burying her face in her hands and rubbing her eyes. "Master," She complained. "Don't encourage her, please."

The elder Mirialan simply smiled. "Please wash up, Barriss." She said as she turned away. "I'll have breakfast ready when you're done."

Barriss turned to face the symbiote, who was still giving her a smug grin. "Rotten parasite." She half-growled, half-mumbled.

 _ **"Cranky baby."**_ Nightshade replied mischievously. Barriss groaned as she stood up to get dressed.

"I'll deal with you later." She complained. Once she had her outfit picked out, she made her way to the shared bathroom.

 ** _"So, let's go over what you're going to say, Barriss."_** Nightshade said, as Barriss started the water for the shower.

The Mirialan woman stuck her hand under the water to test the temperature, before disrobing and stepping in. "This is important because..."

 ** _"Well, you don't want to say the wrong thing out there, do you?"_** Nightshade asked, her blank eyes mimicking the action of raising an eyebrow.

Barriss couldn't help but smirk. "Night, I'm not rehearsing for a play." She said, slathering the shampoo into her hair. "I'm trying to persuade the Senate that I'm not the threat they think I am."

 ** _"Well, we need to be ready for anything the Senate could ask you."_** The symbiote argued. _**"So let's begin. Do you know who framed you?"**_

"It was the combined effort of a hacker and an inside agent within the Jedi Order." Barriss recited, rinsing her hair off.

 ** _"And what of the hacker and this Jedi traitor?"_** Nightshade asked. **_"Have you found either of them?"_**

Barriss took the bar of soap and scrubbed it in her hands, before rubbing it across her body. "I'll tell them that the hacker is still at large, and the Jedi traitor has yet to be identified." She explained.

 _ **"Good."**_ Nightshade replied.

"You know," Barriss said, scrubbing the soap across her legs. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

 ** _"What's on your mind, Berry?"_** Nightshade asked.

"Why do you care so much about my wellbeing?" Barriss asked.

 _ **"Because,"**_ The symbiote replied. **_"If you die, I'll die. Plain and simple."_**

"So you're only worried about me because you're stuck with me?" Barriss continued, raising an eyebrow. "And all this time I thought we were friends."

 _ **"We**_ **are** _ **friends, and I do genuinely care about you, Barriss."**_ Nightshade replied. **_"It's just that I also want to keep my own wellbeing in mind."_**

"Then why'd you get stuck with Azio for three years?" The Jedi learner asked, a cheeky grin lighting her features.

The symbiote paused for about two seconds, before she caught on to what Barriss was suggesting. Then she started laughing. **_"That's a good one."_** She said. **_"We'll have to tell Azio that next time we see him."_**

Barriss smiled as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She reached out and wrapped the towel around herself.

The symbiote retreated into her host's body. _**"So, you have any plans for afterwards?"**_ She asked.

"Not at the moment," Barriss replied, as she dried herself off. "Why?"

 _ **"I was thinking we could go grab something from that market again."**_ Nightshade said.

"Hm." Barriss replied, setting the towel on the rack and putting her clothes on. "I'll think about it. Hopefully we won't have to deal with anymore thugs."

 _ **"And if we do,"**_ Nightshade added. **_"Can I take care of them?"_**

Barriss grinned. "Just don't bite anyone's heads off, okay?"

 ** _"No promises."_** The symbiote replied cheekily.

The Jedi Padawan looked at herself in the mirror, pulling her brush out of the cabinet and running it through her hair. "Remind me later to ask Nazo if he knows anything about Gray Corvus." She said.

 ** _"Sure thing, Berry."_** Nightshade replied. **_"What brought it up?"_**

"I just feel like we haven't seen the last of him." Barriss replied, shrugging.

 ** _"Sounds ominous."_** The symbiote commented.

Barriss sighed, right before her stomach growled. "Was that you, or me?" She asked.

 _ **"I think that was you."**_ Nightshade replied. _**"Let's go get breakfast."**_

The two made their way to the dining area of the apartment, where Luminara was already waiting. She had set three plates out on the table; one for herself, one for Barriss, and another for Nightshade.

"It's fortunate that you could make it, padawan." She said, taking a sip of her tea. She turned to address the symbiote. "I don't know if you like tea, but I set it out for you to try."

As Barriss sat down on the opposite side of the table, the exposed head of the symbiote eyed the tea curiously. **_"Azio was never a fan of tea."_** She mused. _**"He always preferred a warm cup of coffee in the morning."**_ Then she stuck her tongue out and dipped it in the warm liquid. **_"Hmm. It's not bad, but I think I'll pass."_** Barriss, however, dug into her breakfast.

"Thank you, Master." Barriss said, taking a bite of her food.

Luminara nodded, before something crossed her mind. "So, what were you two talking about in the shower?" She asked.

Barriss blushed at the phrasing of her master's question, and Nightshade grinned like the Cheshire Cat. _**"Oh, you know, stuff."**_ Nightshade replied. **_"Boys, fashion trends, all that boring girly stuff."_**

Luminara smiled. Barriss fixed her companion with a glare. "What she meant to say," Barriss clarified. "Is that we went over a few questions she believes the Senate will ask me during my hearing later, particularly concerning Azio and the Jedi mole."

"I'm to assume that Azio is the name of the hacker." Luminara said. "And also Nightshade's previous host."

 _ **"You would be correct."**_ Nightshade replied.

"From what Nightshade has told me," Barriss added. "Azio is on our side, and he just has a few things to take care of before he can formally help us."

"I see," Luminara responded, taking another sip of her tea. "And you are certain we can trust him?"

Nightshade nodded. _**"Granted, he seems batshit crazy at times,"**_ She admitted. **_"But that's part of his charm. Once he warms up to you, he's not as insane as he would like you to believe. Besides, it keeps his enemies from viewing him as a threat."_**

"Such as the Sith Master?" Barriss asked. "Because he seemed rather tight-lipped about that particular detail."

 ** _"Well, that's the thing."_** Nightshade replied. **_"He and I found something out about the Sith Lord, and it put us on his radar. Well, Azio is on his radar, anyway. Still don't know if the Sith is aware of my presence or not. I assume not."_** She shook her head. _**"I'm rambling. The point is, Azio can't afford to expose the Sith yet. There are pieces of the puzzle that aren't in place yet. I'm sure that once he's ready, he'll tell us everything we need to know. For now, let's just focus on getting through this meeting with the Senate."**_

As the two Jedi finished their meal, Luminara turned to her Padawan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready, my Padawan?"

"Not really." Barriss admitted. "But what else do I have to lose?"

* * *

"What a turnout." Kaori said. She, Anakin, and Nazo were watching as Senators began filling into their pods.

"This is a serious event, Kaori." Nazo reminded her. "Try to remember that."

"You're right." Kaori replied, looking towards the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Nazo replied. Then he nudged Anakin's elbow. "Hey, Anakin, did you see the old man down there?"

"Where?" Anakin asked.

Nazo smirked. "Down there, on the left." He said, pointing in that direction. "The third row from the bottom."

Anakin looked in the direction that Nazo was pointing in, and saw an older man sitting in one of the pods. His eyes widened as he realized why Nazo had drawn attention to him.

"Now that's a beard." He said. Kaori noticed that they were goofing around.

"What's this 'bout a beard?" She asked, scooting closer to them.

Nazo pointed at the old man they were referring to, and the Corellian Jedi's eyes widened. "Gods above, 'is beard's 'anging down to his knees."

"That's at least ten years worth of work." Nazo observed.

"He doesn't look any younger than seventy." Anakin said.

"You think it's a fake?" Kaori asked.

"Looks real to me." Nazo mentioned.

"How much you wanna bet Obi-Wan would be jealous of that beard?" Kaori chuckled.

"I doubt he'd even care." Anakin smirked.

Nazo was about to add to that, when he caught sight of the pod carrying the Pantoran Senator and his eyebrows shot up. "Well, that didn't take long at all."

"What's up, man?" Anakin asked.

"Check that out." Nazo smirked, pointing down to Senator Chuchi's pod.

"Okay, what am I looking at?" Anakin replied, not catching on for a moment. All he saw was Senator Chuchi sitting down in her pod, flanked by a pair of guards.

"Doesn't one of those guards look familiar to you?" Nazo asked knowingly.

Anakin squinted closer at the guards. One of them was a Pantoran, but the other was-

It hit Anakin like a brick wall. His eyes widened. "Ahsoka?!" He gaped.

Kaori's head snapped to where the other Jedi were staring, and sure enough, Ahsoka was there, dressed in the same armor as the other guards. "Well, I'll be damned." She said.

"Maybe you'll get a chance to talk to her after this is over." Nazo suggested, turning to Anakin. "From what you've told me, you two didn't part ways in the best manner possible."

"It would be nice to chat with her again, don'tcha think?" Kaori asked.

Anakin sighed. "I guess." He said.

Apparently, the bond between him and Ahsoka was still there, because she suddenly started looking around, before her eyes trailed up to where the three Jedi Knights were sitting. She smiled up at them, and after glancing towards Senator Chuchi, she sent them a subtle wave. Then she mouthed something that they couldn't hear.

"What did she say?" Anakin asked.

Nazo, from where he was sitting, was the only one to discern what she was telling them. "She said, 'We'll talk later', I think." He explained.

"Are ya sure?" Kaori asked.

Nazo shrugged. "Depends." He said nonchalantly. "Do you think she said 'Weak Alligator'?"

Kaori smirked. "Guess not." She replied, stifling a snort.

Anakin smiled, glad that Ahsoka was, as far as he could tell, doing well on her own. "You act like you haven't seen her in months." Nazo observed. "You realize that it's only been three days, right?"

"Okay, first, I thought I told you to stay out of my head." Anakin replied. "And second, yes, I'm aware. But don't I have the right to be worried about her wellbeing?"

"Well, 'ere's the thing, mate." Kaori chimed in. "There's a fine line between being worried about her, and being a helicopter parent." Anakin fixed a harmless glare at her.

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as the last few Senators filed in. The hearing was about to begin.

* * *

Barriss took a deep breath. This was either going to go relatively well, or really poorly.

 ** _"It's okay to be nervous, Berry."_** Nightshade said.

"I'm not nervous." Barriss replied quietly, as she started walking into the senate chamber.

 ** _"You're lying."_** Nightshade said.

"No, I'm not." Barriss countered.

 ** _"How well do you think you can lie to someone literally living under your own skin?"_** Nightshade asked. **_"You realize I can tell when you're lying to me. So let's be honest here. You're worried it's going to go down the drain, aren't you?"_**

"...Yes." Barriss answered hesitantly.

 _ **"Well, don't worry about it too much."**_ Nightshade reassured. _**"It'll be over before you know it. Then we can all get pizza or something. Mirialans aren't inherently vegan, are they?"**_

"It's a bit late to be asking me that question, Night." Barriss countered, a smirk etched on her lips.

 _ **"True, but I just wanted to make sure you didn't decide to go vegan on me in the time since we met."**_ Nightshade answered.

"You would have known if I did, remember?" Barriss countered.

There was no immediate response. Then, _**"Piss off, Barriss."**_ The Mirialan chuckled before taking a deep breath and adopting her signature air of serenity. "You ready for this?" Nightshade asked.

Barriss sighed, maintaining her serene façade. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

The hearing went a lot better than Barriss had expected. Aside from Nightshade growling whenever Tarkin or the Chancellor spoke, the Symbiote didn't make a fuss. One of the jurors had asked her if what the decoy had said about the Jedi and the War was true. Barriss explained that while she was weary of the war, she would never willingly take such drastic actions, and she made a point of ignoring the dirty looks Tarkin was sending her the entire time.

When she asked what she could do to verify that her loyalties were not with the Separatists, the Chancellor explained that she was not required to do anything beyond what was already being done, but suggested that she could aid in the relief efforts in the outer rim. Nightshade, predictably, bristled at Palpatine, but Barriss showed no outward reaction.

With her innocence finally proven, the meeting was adjourned.

* * *

"That went well, I think." Kaori said as the three friends left their chamber.

"Yes, I agree." Nazo added, relieved for Barriss that she could finally have that pressure off her shoulders.

"I still don't think Tarkin had any excuse to be such a dick, though." Anakin grumbled.

"I told you we should have just thrown him in the lava." Nazo said, turning to face Anakin.

"Wait, what?" Kaori interjected.

"He didn't tell you?" Nazo asked, jerking a thumb at Anakin. "Well, it was during our mission to Lola Sayu, to rescue Master Piell. Tarkin was badmouthing Ahsoka, which naturally didn't sit well with Anakin, so I offered that we just shove him into the lava pits, and then just tell everyone it was an accident."

"And what about the information he had?" Kaori asked. "Wouldn't we still need it?"

"I'd already extracted that particular tidbit of knowledge from that pompous idiot's head." Nazo replied nonchalantly. "And we'd agreed that if it came to that point, we could always say we had no clue. Better to lose the information completely than to let the enemy get it." He sighed. "In the end, as you know, my morality won out and the bastard's still breathing...for now."

Anakin nodded. "I don't care how valuable he thinks he is," He added. "I would have let Nazo do it if we'd had the chance."

"Did'ja ever tell Ahsoka about it?" Kaori asked.

"Not really," Anakin replied. "Why?"

Kaori jerked her thumb down the corridor, where Ahsoka was talking with Senator Chuchi. "Well, now's your chance, mate."

Ahsoka seemed to notice them and smiled, waving Anakin over. "I'll be right back, guys." He said, addressing the other two Jedi.

As he approached, Senator Chuchi turned back to Ahsoka. "I'll let you two catch up. See you later, Ahsoka." She said, before turning to acknowledge Anakin with a nod. Then she turned to leave.

As soon as the Pantoran Senator rounded the corner, Ahsoka turned to Anakin and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, Skyguy." She said, hugging him.

"Hey, Snips." Anakin replied, returning the hug. "I missed you."

"It's only been three days, big brother." Ahsoka chuckled.

"I know," Anakin said. "But don't I get to be worried about my little sister?"

"You do." Ahsoka answered with a grin. "It's just that you're acting like you haven't seen me in years."

Anakin chuckled. "Well, it's still good to see you again."

"Right back at you, brother." Ahsoka smirked.

Anakin sighed. "So," He began. "You're working for Senator Chuchi now, huh?"

"Yep." Ahsoka replied. "She and I have been good friends for a while, and she offered me a position as one of her guards."

"And how's it been going?" Anakin asked, a sly grin on his face. "I bet it has a couple of decent benefits, doesn't it."

The young Togruta shrugged. "It pays well, I have my own room, and Riyo helps cover my room and board."

"Riyo, huh?" Anakin replied. "I wasn't aware you two were on a first name basis already."

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "W-Well," She began. "It's like I said, she and I were already good friends."

"Are you sure you're just friends?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow at her. The Togruta's lekku stripes darkened, her eyes darting to and fro nervously.

"What...what are you implying, Anakin?" She asked innocently.

"I think you already know the answer to that, Snips." Anakin teased.

"I...have no idea what you're talking about, Skyguy." Ahsoka denied, her lekku darkening further.

"Oh, well I do." Anakin smirked. "I think you have a crush on her, don't you?"

"And...if I do?" Ahsoka asked nervously.

"Then you should let her know." Anakin suggested. "The worst she could do is friend-zone you."

"Anakin, please stop." Ahsoka hissed under her breath. "If you don't shut up, I swear I'll let it slip that you and Padmé are married. I don't even care, I'll scream it right here."

"Go ahead," Anakin smirked, gesturing to Nazo and Kaori, who were still standing a fair distance away, apparently listening in. "They already know." Then Ahsoka's threat completely clicked in his mind. "Wait a minute, how long have you known about that?"

Now it was Ahsoka's turn to be smug. "A while." She replied. "I never said anything to the council because you're my brother. I wouldn't sell you out if someone paid me a billion credits and my own kingdom on Shili."

Anakin smirked. "Then you just admitted that you made an empty threat." He replied.

Ahsoka seemed to realize that she'd lost her only bargaining chip. "I did, didn't I?" She asked rhetorically. "Damn it." She sighed. "So Barriss was innocent, huh?"

"Yeah." Anakin replied. "Apparently a hacker living here on Coruscant was coerced into helping frame her, with help from a double agent from within the Jedi Order."

"Have you guys figured out who did it?" Ahsoka asked. "Because this feels like an awful lot of work just to get rid of me."

"We're working on it." Anakin replied. "In fact, Nazo, Kaori, and I were on our way to go apprehend the traitor when we saw you."

"And what about Barriss?" Ahsoka wondered.

"I was hoping you two would get a chance to catch up." Anakin explained. "Since she feels convinced that you hate her."

"For something she didn't actually do?" Ahsoka asked, raising an eye-mark. "Hell no, I don't hate her. I heard about when the Barriss that was locked up was a decoy, and I knew that Barriss didn't have the know-how to stage the whole thing. I knew she wasn't responsible." She took a breath. "Alright. I'll try to find her before she leaves."

Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder. "You do that, sis." He said. "By the way, I still have your old lightsabers in case you want them again."

"No thanks, Skyguy." Ahsoka dismissed. "I was planning on going on the next trip to Ilum and getting new crystals anyway."

"That's not for another two weeks." Anakin replied.

"I know." Ahsoka answered. "But I'm in no rush."

"Fair enough." Anakin shrugged.

"By the way," Ahsoka added. "Something felt, I don't know, off, about Barriss' Force Signature. Do you know what that could be about?"

Anakin flinched, but otherwise didn't react. "You'll have to ask her when you see her, sis." He said. "She'll know more about it than I do."

"Okay, then." Ahsoka replied, as she turned to catch back up to Senator Chuchi. "Fair enough. I'll see you later, Skyguy."

"See you later, Snips." Anakin replied, as Ahsoka turned the corner. Then he turned around and joined back up with Nazo and Kaori. "Alright," He said. "Let's go find that traitor."

* * *

"Miss Croft," Palpatine said, as he walked back into his office. "Please cancel all my appointments for the remainder of the day. I require some time to rest."

"Of course, sir." The young secretary nodded, readjusting her glasses. "Will you need anything else?"

"No thank you, my dear." Palpatine replied, waving her off. "You just cancel those appointments, and then you may leave. Have a safe trip home, Miss Croft."

"Thank you, sir." Lyra nodded as she left the room.

As the door closed, Palpatine's smile faded and he gestured for the blinds to close. He donned his cloak as the transmission opened. The visage of Count Dooku came into view.

"Lord Tyranus." Sidious croaked.

 _"What is thy bidding, my master?"_ Dooku asked, kneeling in subservience.

"The hearing with the Mirialan Jedi went as planned." The Sith Master explained. "She is set to be sent to the Eirrean System in the Outer Rim under the pretense of providing relief aid. I take it General Grievous will be ready to deal with her."

 _"I will send him after her as soon as possible, my lord."_ Dooku answered.

"Good, good," Sidious sneered.

 _"And what of the Jedi traitor?"_ Dooku asked.

"I am sure the Jedi will deal with that loose end on their own." The Sith master replied. "His fate is inconsequential to my grand plan."

 _"Shall I order Commander Sogol and his forces to serve as General Grievous' reinforcements?"_ Dooku asked.

Sidious raised one hand dismissively. "That will not be necessary, my apprentice." He replied. "His...assistance, will not be needed in dealing with the Jedi wench. All I require of you is to locate my former apprentice. Eliminate him."

 _"I will not fail you, my lord."_ Dooku answered, bowing his head as the connection ended. Palpatine was left alone to marvel at his own devious plans, oblivious to the minuscule droid hidden in a corner of the office, watching everything.

Meanwhile, miles away, a silver-haired man with a metal arm casually stuffed snacks into his mouth as he finished recording the entire exchange on his laptop. Azio chuckled as the Sith Master sat at his desk, blissfully unaware of the eyes watching him. "So, you want to play like that, eh?" He smirked. He cracked the knuckles of his organic arm and opened up a separate program on his computer. "Game on."

 ** _A/N:_ So, that's that. Anyone remember Lyra Croft from my other story? She once again plays the role of Palpatine's secretary, completely oblivious to her employer's sinister double life.**

 **Anyway, I got lazy halfway around the actual hearing, which is why it's reduced to two small paragraphs with practically no dialogue. I'm sorry.**

 **Anyway, now you all know how Azio figured out the truth, but how he got all the pieces in place for that to happen will (hopefully) be revealed soon.**

 **Now the Tauritian hinted at in chapter 3 has a name: Commander Sogol. Don't bother going to Wookiepedia to learn about him, since I'm pretty sure the Tauritians aren't an official part of the Star Wars Lore (even though apparently, force-attuned parasites that live in one's bloodstream are. Who the hell thought that was a good idea?)**

 **Anyway, all I know currently about what I want to add to the next chapter is Ahsoka's reunion with Barriss, with some snarky comments from Nightshade thrown in there for good measure.**

 **Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.**


End file.
